


Internship

by flipomatic



Category: The Owl House (Cartoon)
Genre: Canon-Typical Violence, Character Study, F/F, Gen, Post Season 1, Unpaid Internships, world building
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-01
Updated: 2021-02-21
Packaged: 2021-03-08 19:53:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 34
Words: 71,488
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27332248
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/flipomatic/pseuds/flipomatic
Summary: Edric looked down at the mask in his hands, the one he’d worn every day for the last month.What had he learned? Well, a new spell, but what else? Watch out for corrupt authority figures?New experiences weren’t so bad, or something like that.OrThe Blight siblings explore career options and learn something about themselves along the way.
Relationships: Amity Blight & Edric Blight & Emira Blight, Amity Blight/Luz Noceda
Comments: 207
Kudos: 209





	1. Before - Emira

**Author's Note:**

> Here we go, off into this brand new project. I’m writing this for NaNoWriMo, so it will be mostly written in the month of November. The target word count is 50,000 and I have 35 chapters planned. All of that could change, so we’ll see how things go. Welcome, I hope you enjoy the fic!

As the illusion teacher lectured, droning on about imitation spells, Emira was doodling in class. She wasn’t normally the type to doodle, she usually preferred to create images with illusion magic instead, but this class was so dull even that couldn’t alleviate her boredom.

Currently she was drawing little stick figures of herself and Ed, sending them on adventures anywhere but this classroom. The most recent drawing was of them training with Mittens at the Knee.

To her left, Ed was taking a nap. He had an illusion spell cast to make it look as if his eyes were open, but his slumped posture and slow steady breathing were dead giveaways. Luckily he didn’t snore or talk in his sleep, so the teacher didn’t notice.

Emira glanced up from her amazing stick figures to look at the school bell. There were only a few minutes left in this class, and then she had only one more after for the day. After that, she’d have sweet sweet freedom for the whole weekend.

She was planning to go with Ed to the market; they had a new duplication illusion that they wanted to test on unsuspecting shoppers. The goal was to make them think they’d taken more items than they actually bought. It was still in trial, but Emira had high hopes for it.

“The schedule has changed, so listen carefully to where you’re going next.” The illusion teacher said from the front of the room, the change of topic drawing Emira’s attention to her. “After this class, head to the gym for an assembly.” Emira hadn’t heard anything about an assembly before now. She glanced over at Ed to see if he knew anything, but he was still sound asleep and no help at all.

A student raised their hand and asked what the assembly was going to be about, but the teacher said they would see when they got there.

A moment later the bell rang, signaling dismissal. Ed snapped awake at the loud noise, his illusion spell dispelling as he opened his eyes. As the students around them started to leave, gossiping about the change to their day, Emira gathered her belongings as well. She stowed her doodles away, to be continued another time.

As Ed followed her out of the classroom, Emira filled him in. “We’re not going to class, there’s an assembly.” She said, turning to walk towards the gym.

“What for?” Ed asked, trailing behind her as they weaved through the crowded halls.

Emira shook her head. “Don’t know yet. It’s probably not important.” She looked back at Ed, then tilted her head towards a nearby stairwell entrance.

Ed nodded and turned towards the stairwell, seeming to understand what she was suggesting. Ditching the assembly wouldn’t be a big deal, nobody would even notice they were gone and if anything important happened they would hear about it later. They could wait in the stairwell until it started, and then slip away unnoticed. It was a tried and true strategy.

Emira turned to head that way, but when she was a few steps away from the door a familiar voice stopped her.

“Make sure not to be late for the assembly.” The illusion teacher from their last class had walked up behind them, her voice bursting any hope Emira had of sneaking away. Now that she had seen them loitering in the hallway, she would certainly look for them at the assembly too.

“We won’t be.” Ed replied to her in a fake polite tone.

Emira nodded and turned away from the stairwell. “Let’s go.” She gestured for Ed to follow, and then started walking away. The teacher called after them that she would see them there, which meant that yes, they had to go.

It only took a minute to reach the gym from there, which already had most of their class in it. There were not as many students as Emira had expected, since this was an assembly. She thought it would be the whole school or perhaps all of the high school students, but it looked like it was only the oldest students in the school. Principal Bump was standing on the floor of the gym, holding the mic but not yet speaking.

The students were guided to all sit on the right side bleachers, of which they only filled about half of the seats. Emira and Ed climbed all the way up to the back, taking a seat in the last row. When the illusion teacher walked in a few minutes later she combed her eyes over the crowd, nodding when she saw them there.

A couple minutes later, the bell rang. When the last sound from the bell faded, Principal Bump started speaking into the microphone. “Welcome students.” He said, smiling up at the upperclassmen in the bleachers. “Within the next two years, you will be joining covens. This is a wonderful time in your lives.” He swept one hand in a large gesture. “To help prepare you for this momentous occasion, Hexside has worked with the Emperor to provide an internship program.”

A few of the students turned to mutter to each other, bringing a low buzz of whispers over the crowd. Emira looked over at Ed, and he shrugged in response. Neither of them had heard anything about this. Emira couldn’t deny that she was curious though. An internship meant not having to go to school for a while, which would at least be a change of pace.

“You have all been assigned a coven to complete your internship for the next four weeks. Your placement starts Monday morning, bright and early.” Principal Bump continued. “Your placements are final; they will be posted in your next class. The internship is required and the coven will report your attendance to the school.” Next to her, Ed sighed dramatically. “Remember, you represent Hexside. Be on your best behavior and have fun!”

A few hands popped up in the audience, so Principal Bump took some questions. Students asked about what the punishment would be if they didn’t complete the internship. The answer, unpleasantly, would be that they would flunk their last period class. Another student asked how they will know where to report. Principal Bump said that information would be available with their coven assignment.

This went on for another half hour, with questions being answered. Emira didn’t ask any, just listened to the responses. It sounded like this was completely mandatory, and whatever coven she was assigned she would be stuck with. She hoped they sent her to the Emperor’s Coven; it would be more interesting than the Illusion Coven.

When the questions dried up, Principal Bump dismissed them back to their regular classes. There was a flurry of conversation among the students as they left the gym, all curious about where they would be assigned.

“Please be the Illusion Coven.” Ed pleaded with the sky, as if asking the Isles for a favor. “Please.” He had his hands held together as if praying.

“I don’t know,” Emira walked beside him, headed to their last class. “We could both get the Emperor’s Coven.”

Ed groaned. “Anything but that.” He shook his head. “Hard work doesn’t get along with me.” He looked back up and requested again to be put in illusions.

They continued chatting as they walked, until they reached the classroom. Once she stepped through the door, Emira saw that her peers were huddled around the blackboard. She had to nudge her way through the crowd to the coven assignments, which were posted in a large illusion image on the board.

It only took her a moment to find her and Ed’s names, since Blight was almost first in the alphabet.

**Edric Blight – Emperor’s Coven**

**Emira Blight – Illusion Coven**

What? Emira blinked a couple times to make sure she was seeing that correctly. Ed was going to the Emperor’s Coven and she was going to the Illusion Coven. They were being split up? She was being sent to Illusions while Ed was going to the Emperor’s Coven?? Shouldn’t that be the other way around? It didn’t make any sense.

Emira looked over at Ed, who had his eyes locked on the list. His cheeks had paled considerably as he stared. Emira nudged his arm, snapping him out of his trance.

“That can’t be right.” He said, eyes snapping back to the board. “I’m gonna die if I have to go to the Emperor’s Coven.”

Emira agreed with him; though she had teased him, she knew Ed would hate being part of law enforcement. If they had gone together it would’ve been more bearable for him, but on his own he would be miserable. “Maybe we can swap.” She would have more fun at the Emperor’s Coven than the Illusion Coven, so swapping was a win-win situation.

A little bit of color returned to Ed’s cheeks as he nodded in reply. “Yeah, ok, let’s do that.” They walked over to the teacher for this class, who was already surrounded by students asking questions.

Ed pushed through the crowd, cutting to the front. “Excuse me.” He said when there was a momentary break in conversation, drawing the teacher’s attention to him. “Can Emira and I swap assignments?”

The teacher, one of the general education teachers, shook his head no. “The assignments are final. You may not trade.” That was quite disappointing to hear. The teacher was immediately pulled away by another student, to answer a different question.

Ed visibly deflated as he walked away, and Emira felt the same way. They were stuck with these covens, whether they liked it or not. She looked back up at the board, making note of the location next to her assignment. She would have to go there starting on Monday, so she should make sure she knew where it was.

Ed was looking at the board again, starling listlessly at it. Emira wrote down the location for his internship too, just in case.

She poked him in the side and reminded him that they were going to test new illusion pranks later, which cheered him up only for a moment.

This weekend truly was their last chance for a while to be free.

They had a long month ahead.


	2. Day 1 - Edric

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here we are for chapter two. The publishing schedule is going to be on Tuesday and Friday evenings for this fic.

Edric grimaced at the Bonesborough jail building, dreading the moment he would have to go inside. This was where he was assigned for his internship, so he had very reluctantly walked here. Surprisingly, he was not supposed to report to the Emperor’s Castle, but instead to the local city jail. Edric dragged his feet every step of the way there that morning.

All he wanted was an easy internship at the Illusion Coven, was that too much to ask? Apparently, the answer was yes. The universe had condemned him to an internship in law enforcement, which was literally the last place he wanted to be. Edric would’ve rather been in class than standing within a hundred feet of any branch of the Emperor’s Coven.

Em should’ve been assigned to this coven instead, at least she would enjoy the challenge. For Edric, just the thought of having to chase criminals and use other magic was giving him hives.

He suggested to Em that they use magic to disguise themselves as each other, but the Illusion Coven would see through it for sure. They would last a few days at most, and risk both failing the internship when they were caught. They couldn’t come up with any other ideas, so the only option they had was to go along with their coven assignments.

That was what led to Edric standing in front of the Bonesborough jail building, heavy feet not wanting to take a single step closer. It wasn’t too late; he could still leave without being noticed. He could even use an illusion spell to make it so nobody would see him fleeing.

“Hey kid, are you lost?” A male voice asked from his left. Edric turned to look, and saw an Emperor’s Coven member just a couple feet away. His face was covered in the beak mask most coven members wore and he had one hand raised, as if he was going to tap Edric to get his attention. He wore the grey uniform and white cloak of the coven. He must’ve been confused; Edric had worn his casual clothes instead of his Hexside uniform, so he must’ve looked like he was lost.

Edric took half a step away. “Oh, sorry no.” He cleared his throat and decided to resign to his fate. “I’m the new intern from Hexside.”

“We have an intern?” The coven member sounded surprised, his hand dropping back to his side.

Edric shrugged, not sure how to respond to that. “I guess.” Did they not know he was coming? He felt a spark of hope; maybe they would just let him leave.

The coven member thought about it for a moment before speaking. “Come with me.” Was what he settled on, crushing Edric’s short lived dream as he gestured for him to follow along into the building. The coven member started walking away, leaving Edric to drag his feet from where he had planted them and follow him in.

It was strange that the coven members didn’t know he was coming, Edric thought. Even though he had only heard about this on Friday, the coven must’ve had more time to prepare. At least, that’s what he assumed.

They entered through the front door of the jail, passing by the lobby and clerk to go to an ‘Emperor’s Coven Only’ door. The coven member opened it without hesitation, leading Edric deeper into the building. They walked through a hallway with a number of office doors, all with names plates on them. Edric glanced at a few, but didn’t recognize any of the names. His parents would likely scold him if they knew; they often told him about high ranking coven members with the expectation that he would remember them.

When the pair emerged from that hallway, they reached an intersection. The coven member turned right, but was stopped before he could move any further.

“I see you found our intern.” A high pitched voice called out to them from the left branch of the intersection, one Edric had heard only a handful of times before. He looked over and saw a short witch with red skin. Blue bangs covered her right eye, giving her a slightly off-putting appearance. She was carrying a large bag dangling from one hand.

Edric had seen her before when his class toured the Emperor’s Castle, and on the news a few times since. He couldn’t remember her name, but he knew she worked directly for the Emperor.

The coven member spun on his heel, saluting her as she approached. “Kikimora, Ma’am, he was in front of the building.” Edric was impressed that he didn’t complain about not knowing an intern was coming.

“Thank you, I’ll take him from here.” Kikimora replied, dismissing the coven member. He finished his salute, then spun on the same heel as before to continue in his originally intended direction. Edric watched him go for a moment.

“Welcome to the Emperor’s Coven.” Kikimora said, drawing Edric’s attention back to her. “To be chosen for this role is the highest honor. If you work hard, you will be able to earn your place here.” That was the exact opposite of what Edric wanted to do; he would give anything to be anywhere but here.

Edric tried not to visibly grimace, forming what hoped was an inoffensive, if untrue, response. “I’ll try.” He replied.

“Hmm.” Kikimora’s one visible eye narrowed. “We’ll see, won’t we.” Edric felt a shudder down his spine at those words, wondering what exactly she had planned for him. After a momentary pause, Kikimora continued speaking. “Come along, I will show you the facility.” She turned back down the hallway she came from, gesturing for Edric to follow.

At the end of the short hallway they reached a set of two doors, with one that said Women and the other that said Men. “These are the locker rooms. You can wear your uniform in or change here in the morning.” Kikimora said as she lifted the bag in her hand to hand it to Edric. This is your uniform. Go put it on, I will wait for you here.”

Edric had to lean down to accept the bag from her, which was pretty light considering the size of it. He peeked inside as he walked into the men’s locker room, sighing at the large curved mask that took up most of the space. He looked for an empty locker, then started to unload his new clothing.

The clothes inside included black slacks and a grey shirt, which were fairly inoffensive. Edric had no problem taking off the casual clothing his mother forced him to wear and trading it for a much simpler grey and black look. As he put them on, he found the new clothes surprisingly comfortable too. The long sleeves could get warm in the sun, but there were spells to counter that.

Next was the boots and gloves, which magically adjusted to fit when he put them on. After that he put on the white cape, which covered his shoulders and cascaded down his back.

Last but not least was the beak mask. This was easily his least favorite part of the uniform and the only piece he didn’t want to wear. Edric put it on slowly, and was immediately unable to see out of his peripheral vision. How could they wear these all the time? It seemed so impractical.

Edric stowed his other clothes in a locker, locking it with a spell, and then put his hood up to go look in the mirror at his new uniform. “I look like a bird.” He muttered, adjusting the mask on his face. Unfortunately, this was as good as it was going to get.

He sighed again, then left the locker room to rejoin Kikimora. As promised, she was waiting for him in the hallway. She nodded when she saw him, smiling in approval of his new look. At least one of them liked it.

They then walked back down the hallway, turning left to go down the middle branch of the intersection from before. This hallway was longer and led to another set of two doors, but these ones were not labeled.

Kikimora opened the one on the left, speaking as she walked through the door. “This is the training facility. You will spend time here honing your magic and combat skills.” Edric followed her through the door, eyes widening at the surprisingly large room on the other side. He had to turn his head a lot to see it properly.

The training room stretched for at least a hundred feet long, forming a large rectangle. There were racks of weapons along the walls, including training wands. A few coven members were scattered through the room, practicing magic or swinging a physical weapon. A couple were even sparring in one of the corners.

It was an impressive space, the first thing Edric had found interesting since he arrived. This would be a great room to conduct pranks in; the walls were just asking to be graffitied. Plus, he could isolate unsuspecting coven members here as easy targets. That was probably not what he was supposed to get out of this tour, but it was incredibly appealing.

Kikimora waited for him to stop looking around, then gestured for him to follow her back out.

“The other door is the staff lounge.” She said when they reached the hallway, then started walking back towards the intersection without offering Edric a chance to look inside. That was disappointing, since the staff lounge would likely be Edric’s favorite room in the whole jail. But no, he had to follow her away from it.

Kikimora again turned left at the intersection, this time going the same direction the coven member he met earlier went when they parted ways. The hallway here was short, ending in a single door.

“This is the dispatch center. You will report here every day to receive your assignments.” Kikimora led Edric into the room. This was a moderately sized space, with windows to let in natural light. A desk filled the center of the room, with an Emperor’s Coven member sitting at it. Edric figured that he was the dispatcher. There was paper spread across the desk and piles of binders on the ground near it.

Three other coven members were in the room as well, talking with the dispatcher. They wore hoods and the same beak masks over their faces, so Edric wasn’t sure if one of them was the member he met earlier. When they noticed Kikimora, they all turned to salute her.

“Welcome to the branch Ma’am.” The dispatcher said, likely speaking to Kikimora and not to Edric. If Edric knew the crowd better, he would’ve cut in with a joke. Unfortunately, he suspected doing that now would get him kicked out of both the internship and Hexside. “What can we do for you?”

“We have a wonderful opportunity to foster a young mind.” Kikimora gestured towards Edric, stepping aside so the coven members could see him better. “This young man will be interning with the coven.” She gestured to the coven members on the left and center as she introduced them. “Edric, this is Patrol Witch Ralph and Patrol Witch Anderson. They are our highest ranking officers at this branch and will guide you for the next month.”

“Thank you for your kind words.” The one on the left, who must’ve been Ralph, eased his posture as he replied. He had a mid range voice, a little higher than Edric’s own.

“We’re honored to train him here.” The second one, had to be Anderson but Edric really wasn’t sure, chimed in next. His voice was lower, his speaking pattern slower. How was Edric going to tell them apart when they all dressed exactly the same? Their voices did sound different, but if they didn’t talk then there was no way to know.

“I want him on the market route today. Tomorrow morning I’ll send over his long term assignment.” Kikimora looked at the dispatcher as she spoke, who quickly scribbled something down.

“Yes Ma’am.” He replied with a nod.

“I leave him in your care then.” She turned away, walking towards the door. When she opened it, she looked back at Edric before stepping through. “Best of luck to you, young witch.” Again, Edric felt a shudder.

A moment later and she was gone, leaving Edric alone with the Emperor’s Coven witches. It was also hard to tell any of their emotions since their faces were hidden by masks. He had to rely on body language and voice. There also could’ve been another witch in the corner and Edric never would’ve seen them, since he could only see straight ahead of himself, but that wasn’t very likely.

None of them had seen his face yet; he wondered if he could still escape with a well time illusion spell. That probably wouldn’t work, since he would have to take the mask off to do it right and then they would know what he looked like.

“I have the market patrol today.” The third coven member, on the right, raised his hand as he spoke. His voice sounded familiar; this was the witch who Edric met when he arrived.

“He’ll go with you then, make sure to keep him out of trouble.” Anderson said with a nod. He seemed to have more authority than the other two, though it was hard to tell.

“I was just about to head out, let’s go.” The coven member walked past Edric to the door, expecting him to follow. Edric slowly turned to trail after him, hoping that they wouldn’t have to walk the entire way there.

They left the other two behind, then exited the jail through the main entrance.

“We’ll walk, it’s not far.” The coven member said, leading the way into town. Edric followed without a word, frowning beneath his mask. “I’m Mike by the way. You’re a Hexside student, right?”

“Yup.” Edric gave a short reply as he stumbled over a rock. He was trying and failing to not to look down at his feet while he walked. He hadn’t realized how much he relied on his peripheral vision to not trip on things.

“Our main job on patrol is to keep an eye out for criminals.” Mike started to fill Edric in on what the internship actually entailed. “So if you see something suspicious, let me know.”

“Alright.” Edric replied dryly, not excited about the prospect of doing that job. He was far more likely to be running from authority, not the witch enforcing it.

They walked in silence for a minute.

“What track are you in at school?” Mike asked, still trying to make conversation while they walked.

Edric spun one finger in the air, not able to resist a chance to show off. He made a series of light clones appear around Mike, all wearing the Emperor’s Coven uniform and walking in step with him. “Illusion track.” He would’ve winked if Mike had been able to see it.

Mike looked around at the clones, then back at Edric. “Impressive. As expected, they only accept the best in the Emperor’s Coven.” If the internship hadn’t also been a lot of work, that would’ve warmed Edric to the idea of it. “What magic can you do from other tracks?” Mike asked, looking for more details.

Edric dispelled the clones before answering. “Not much.” He replied honestly. He hadn’t dabbled in other magic, illusions had always been the best track for him.

“You’ll need other types for the job. I suggest starting with plant magic, it’s really useful for catching runaways.”

Edric wasn’t going to suggest that catching criminals was the last thing he wanted to be doing. He just sighed and said he’d work on it. He could already feel the hard work hives starting to develop.

A minute later and they arrived at the market. Mike told him that they should be quiet and focus on their route, and then started to patrol around the market. Ed trailed after him, regretting every decision he made that brought him to this moment.

His feet were already sore.

He hoped Em was having a better first day.


	3. Day 1 - Emira

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It’s possible that the Illusion Coven is led by two people, but I think there’s only one coven leader. Canon might prove me wrong someday.

Emira glanced down at her map, making sure she was in the right place. She marked the location of the Illusion Coven before she left so that she wouldn’t get lost. She had decided to walk, since it would only take about 15 minutes and her access to other modes of transportation were quite limited.

Emira decided to wear her casual clothes, since she didn’t want to look like a student at her internship. She wanted to be taken seriously.

Before she left, her mother said to give her regards to the coven leader. She placed heavy emphasis on the word regards, but Emira knew better than to ask for clarification. She just agreed to do so, and then set out on her way.

She thought about the internship while she walked. She felt mostly neutral about the assignment, not really sure what it would bring. While she had been hoping for the Emperor’s Coven, she did love doing illusion magic. This could be a good chance to learn some new spells and, as her mother often put it, do some networking. She still wasn’t sure what that meant.

Now she stood in front of the building she had marked, double checking that she made it to the right place. The building was two stories tall, with windows every five feet or so. Beige paint covered the external walls. It looked fairly ordinary, but Emira could feel a hint of residual magic in the air.

The front door had a neon flashing sign that said ‘OPEN’ in bright green letters. That was where Emira entered, taking her first official steps into the coven.

Inside, there was a small lobby like room. It had a couch and a few chairs to one side with a set of large doors behind them, and a counter on the other. The walls were fairly muted in color, but had flashes of bright accents. Behind the counter sat a male witch with eyes cast towards the door. He was the only witch in the lobby, and he smiled slightly when Emira looked his way.

“Welcome to the Illusion Coven.” He said as Emira approached his desk, sitting up straight in his chair. “How may I be of assistance?” He spoke politely, in an even tone. From the question, he seemed to think she was a customer. He must’ve been a secretary of some kind.

“I’m the new intern.” Emira replied, stopping in front of the counter. She could see a binder on the table, full of lines of text. “Emira Blight.” She added, since there would likely be more than one intern from Hexside coming to the coven today.

The witch looked down at his binder for a moment, then his eyes snapped up. “Oh, yes that starts today doesn’t it.” His smile grew into a grin as he jumped out of his chair. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Ms. Blight.” Emira took a half step back from the counter, his sudden enthusiasm putting her off slightly.

“Same to you.” Emira kept her response concise and polite.

The coven member was still grinning as he stepped around his desk. “The coven leader is expecting you, if you’ll follow me.” He gestured towards a back door, and when Emira nodded he started walking that way. She followed after him as instructed, passing through a door labeled ‘employees only’.

On the other side was a series of magically lit hallways that were lined with doors. The magic lights caught Emira’s eye; she wondered if they could be manipulated with an illusion spell. That would be a great way to prank witches passing through this hallway. Perhaps by making them flicker or change colors, she had to think about it.

The coven member led Emira through a few turns, then stopped at a door that was larger than the rest. The doorknob had a gold colored plating on it, which stood out from the others as well.

The coven member knocked twice on the door and received a call of “Come in!” from inside. He pulled the door open and gestured for Emira to enter.

Emira thanked him as she moved past, resisting the urge to look back as the door shut with an audible click behind her. Instead she glanced around the office. The two side walls were lined with bookshelves, full of what looked to be illusion magic books. Along the back wall trophies and awards were displayed, all for magic competitions and performances.

The head of the Illusion Coven sat behind a large desk in the middle of the room. Emira had met him a few times before, but hadn’t spent much time speaking with him.

“Why, if it isn’t Emira Blight.” The coven leader said, drawing Emira’s wandering eyes to him. He was smiling broadly, showing a few too many teeth to be natural. “When I heard you would be joining us for the internship, I was absolutely thrilled.” Interesting that he had said her full name.

“I’m happy to be here.” Emira replied, only half lying. It would be rude to say she wanted to go to the Emperor’s Coven instead. “My mother sends her regards.”

His smile shrunk by a few teeth, but quickly snapped back into place. “Please tell Odalia I return them in kind.” He spoke smoothly.

As she did that morning, Emira did not ask for more details. “I will.”

The coven leader gestured to a chair in front of his desk, moving on from the pleasantries. “Please take a seat, we have much to discuss.” Emira did so with a nod, finding that the chair was comfortable to sit in. “Let me fill you in on our marvelous system. Illusion Coven witches go on jobs every day to provide illusion magic to those in need.” He emphasized the word need. “Customers request work and witches are assigned to help them. Starting tomorrow, you will shadow one of our finest witches. For today, you will work with me.” He lifted one hand to his chest to emphasize that information.

So it was mostly small jobs then. “What kinds of jobs are requested?” Emira asked, curious about what exactly she would be doing.

“All kinds.” The coven leader counted on his fingers as he listed them. “Things like performances, advertising, special effects, temporary cloning, astroturfing, and too many others to count.” The list piqued Emira’s interest, especially work in special effects. “Today we’ll be helping set up signs for the construction coven. I’ll show you around our building, and then we’ll be on our way.” The coven leader rose from his seat as he finished.

“Sounds like a plan.” Emira stood as well, smoothing her pants as she did. The coven leader stepped around his desk and led her out the door, back into the hallway.

“Our building is small, most of the rooms are offices for our witches. The bathrooms and the break room are at the end of this hallway.” The coven leader pointed down the hall to the left. “There is a small theater next to the lobby, where we perform amazing shows.” He started walking down the right hall, with Emira following behind.

They made the same turns through the hallways as Emira did to get in there, which she made note of in case she needed to get back to the coven leader’s office. When they reached the lobby, they went to a set of two large doors on one side of the room.

“This is our grand theater!” The coven leader pulled the door open as he spoke, showing off the room to Emira. It was larger than expected, with a stage in back and seats that could hold a crowd of about 100. She wondered if she’d get to perform there during her internship; that would be cool. She looked around for a minute, taking in the sights, then backed away so the coven leader could close the door.

“Are you ready for your first job with the coven?” The coven leader asked, that too large grin returning to his face.

Emira nodded. “I’m ready.”

“Let’s go then.” They walked towards the front door, passing by the coven member who had returned to his counter. The coven leader stopped to speak with him. “Assign the other interns to Jennifer for today, I’ll have permanent assignments for them tomorrow.” The coven member nodded and wrote something down in his notebook.

With that done, the coven leader led Emira outside to start walking to their destination. He said it was only a few blocks away, so they could walk. The weather was clear, and it had warmed up since Emira’s earlier walk to the coven.

It only took about five minutes to reach their destination, which was a large empty lot surrounded by a fence. Construction Coven witches milled around it, hauling in equipment and large pieces of lumber. Some were using glyphs to enhance their strength and were carrying massive stone blocks like they were filled with air.

Emira looked around, eyes landing on the clear leader of the project. She was wearing a bright orange vest and were carrying a clip board, a sure sign of being in charge. When she saw Emira and the coven leader approaching, she waved them over. Emira followed him over, staying back and to his right.

“Thanks for coming.” The construction member said in a low, gravelly voice. Now that she was closer it would be easy for Emira to make that orange vest neon green instead, so so easy, but she would have to wait for the right moment if she wanted to do it. “We just love your work.”

The coven leader smiled, giving a practiced flourishing bow. “Glad to be of service.” He then gestured back at Emira. “Ms. Blight is one of our interns from Hexside, she’ll be helping out today.” Emira flashed a brief wave and a smile from behind him.

“Fantastic.” The construction members tone of voice did not match her word choice. “You’ll be setting up the construction signs today. We need one on each corner, at the entrances, and every ten feet as warnings around the perimeter.” She pointed to each area as she mentioned it, spinning her finger in a large circle to represent the perimeter.

“We’re on it.” The coven leader said, then turned to Emira. “Let’s start at the front.” She nodded, so he strode back towards the entrance.

When he reached it, he lifted his right hand and drew an illusion circle. “The construction coven likes their warning signs to be bright.” He finished the circle and cast the spell, causing a flash of light. When it faded a moment later, a large sign had appeared on the fence next to the entrance. It said ‘warning, active construction’ in bright orange letters, the same shade as the vest. With a second spin of the finger, it lit up with flashing light.

Emira raised her hand to make another one, perhaps in a different color scheme, and started to draw a large magic circle for it. She had drawn about half of the circle when a hand on her wrist stopped her.

“Oh no, don’t worry about it. I’ve got this.” The coven leader said, once again wearing his large grin. He didn’t close his hand around her wrist, but the firm touch carried his intent clearly. Emira pulled her hand back, allowing the magic circle to dissipate. She couldn’t help but feel confused, hadn’t he brought her here to help?

“I’ll do the ones at the other entrance then.” Emira suggested, pointing over at the specified location. 

The coven leader shook his head, his smile not giving an inch. “That won’t do at all, you must stay with me. Come, watch how I layer these spells.” He again cast an illusion spell to make a construction board, and then lit it with a similar lighting spell.

Emira felt her jaw slack; if she had less restraint she’d be openly gaping. He didn’t want her assistance then, did he? He just brought her along to show off his two layered sign magic, which wasn’t anything special in Emira’s opinion.

They moved next to the other entrance, where he again insisted on creating the signs himself. By the time they made it to the outside corners, Emira wasn’t even watching him cast anymore.

She was one of the finest illusion witches in her year, good enough that she could’ve been sent to the Emperor’s Coven instead, but here she was just standing around doing nothing. She turned to watch the foot traffic move by, combining that with staring into space.

It was only day one, and her eyes were already glazing over.

She didn’t think it was possible, but she hoped Edric was having a better time.


	4. Day 1 - Amity

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The first Amity chapter is here. As a note this fic will have lumity in it, but lumity is not the primary focus of Amity’s story.

Amity was enjoying the sunny Monday afternoon as she walked home from school. Hexside had been quite quiet with the absence of the two oldest grades, but that just meant it was easier to walk through the crowded halls. Her siblings’ absence also meant far less pranks being committed. Amity had recently gotten the cast removed from her ankle, so she could go to school full time again.

The biggest topic at school was the new internship program that had pulled the upperclassmen away. Amity had discussed it with Luz that morning, how Em was going to the Illusion Coven while Ed was going to the Emperor’s Coven. They both wondered what was happening in the Emperor’s Coven now that Lilith was no longer the coven leader, and what kind of impact that would have on the coven moving forward.

Hopefully Ed would still have a good internship with them, though he was not excited about it. In fact, he had complained loudly all weekend about having to go, and had left the house very slowly that morning. Em hadn’t expressed much excitement either, but she didn’t seem to dread the upcoming experience like Ed did.

Amity tried to put those worries out of her mind as she arrived home and entered the Blight manor. She wondered if either of her siblings were home yet. They could be pretty loud, or silent depending what they were doing, but she didn’t hear anything upon entering the house.

When she walked through the house, towards the stairs, she could hear her mother and father talking in the study. They talked in sharp tones as usual, though their words were too muffled by the walls to hear. Amity moved past without stopping to speak with them.

When she reached the stairs, Amity glanced briefly out the window. She turned to walk up the steps, but had to stop and look back again at the view outside. She had spotted an unusual flash of green out in the grass, a lighter shade than the surrounding area. On longer inspection, it appeared to be Em laying in the sun.

Amity smiled, happy to see Em already home for the day. Em had been more optimistic than Ed about the internship, though her current posture implied that it hadn’t gone well. Amity changed course, turning to head towards the back door.

When she made it outside, Amity walked over to where Em laid in the grass. She was lying face up, eyes closed with arms and legs spread to catch more sun. When Amity was close her shadow covered Em’s face, prompting her to open her eyes.

“Oh hey, how was school?” Em asked without moving, only her eyes following Amity.

Amity sat down in the grass next to her. “Pretty uneventful.” She answered, stretching her legs out in the grass in front of her. The sun did feel nice on them, even over her leggings.

Em turned her head towards her. “The school didn’t implode without us?”

“Not yet.” Amity chuckled, remembering how calm things had been. “Any day now though.”

Em laughed as she sat up, pausing to brush grass off her back and arms. “How’s your ankle holding up with walking to school?” That had been a concern when she got the cast off, that the distance to Hexside was too far to be walking on it.

“It hasn’t been hurting.” Amity reported, glancing down at the leg in question. She was lucky that it healed as cleanly as it did.

“Great.” Em smiled, though she still looked tired.

Amity changed the subject away from herself. “How was your first day at the coven?” She was curious; she didn’t know much about the illusion coven.

Em’s expression immediately fell, a frown taking over her face. “It started ok, but then it was absolutely terrible.” She scoffed. “They’re not taking me seriously at all.”

“What do you mean?” Amity scrunched her brow as she asked.

“I just followed the coven leader around all day and watched him work. It was super boring, even worse than school.” Em waved her arms for emphasis, complaining loudly. “If I wanted to watch half baked illusion magic, I’d go to a show, not work at the coven.” She ended with a huff.

It must’ve been really bad if she thought it was worse than school. “That’s surprising.” Amity replied with a frown. “Hopefully they’ll give you some real work.”

“I hope so too.” Em sighed, crossing her arms. “Or it’ll be a very long month.”

The two sisters talked for a while longer, about the coven leader and the exact degree of boredom Em reached that day. So far, it sounded like her internship was going poorly. If all she could do was watch, she wouldn’t have a chance to hone her magic. Ironically, if it were Ed in that situation he would’ve been thrilled.

After a few more minutes, Amity stood to go inside. “I’ve got homework to do.” Amity said as she brushed the grass from her pants.

“I’ll just lay here; it’s working well for me.” Emira collapsed back onto the ground, returning to the position Amity found her in. She closed her eyes before Amity turned away to return to the house.

When Amity reached the door, she double checked that there were no bits of grass or dirt stuck to her clothes. She would be scolded if she tracked dirt into the house, and it just wasn’t worth the hassle. She didn’t find any, so she re-entered her home.

Then Amity went back on her path from before, moving to climb the stairs. She passed by Ed’s room, but the door was open and it looked like he wasn’t home yet. She wanted to hear how his day went too, but for a totally different reason than with Em.

When Amity reached her room she went inside and closed the door, ready to work on her homework. She had a couple assignments to work on, which would take a couple hours. She sat down at her desk and took out the first assignment, putting thoughts of internships aside for the time being.

For the next half hour, Amity focused on her work. She was writing about the different compositions of abominations and how changing the ingredients could give them different abilities. It was an interesting topic, but one she hadn’t dabbled much in.

Amity had just finished her third paragraph when she heard a loud thud, the sound echoing through the house. It sounded like it came from upstairs, not too far from her room. Was Ed home?

Putting down her pen, Amity stood to go check. When she reached the hallway, she saw that she was correct. Ed’s door, which had been open before, was now closed. He had likely slammed it shut when he arrived, which wasn’t a great sign.

Amity should’ve just gone back to her homework, since she still had a lot to finish, but she was too curious about how his day went. She hoped to join the Emperor’s Coven someday, and Ed was spending four whole weeks there.

There was also the question of who was running the coven now, since Lilith was gone. Amity was dying to know that too.

Unable to resist, Amity walked down the hall to his door. She knocked on it twice, and waited for a response.

About thirty seconds later, Ed pulled the door open. He was dressed in the black and grey uniform of the Emperor’s Coven, but wasn’t wearing the cloak or mask. His light green hair was more disheveled than usual, probably from wearing the hood all day. Other than that, he looked unharmed but tired.

“Hey, what’s up?” He asked, leaning against the door frame.

“How was it? Did you catch any criminals?” Amity asked the two questions rapidly, her excitement getting away from her. She mentally pulled herself back, reminded herself to be cool.

Ed’s expression immediately soured. “It was the worst, and no, I didn’t.” He stepped back from the door, waving for her to come into the room.

Amity entered, closing the door behind her. Their parents had good ears. “What did they have you doing?” She asked, still more eager sounding than she intended.

“Just following a patrol in this awful uniform for literally hours. My feet will never forgive me.” Ed scowled, pointing down at his feet dramatically. Amity quite liked the Emperor’s Coven uniform, but now wasn’t the time to mention that. “How were things at school?”

It was funny, since Em had asked a similar question. “Quiet without you.” Amity replied.

“I would rather be there tomorrow than back on patrol.” Ed grumbled, walking over to his desk. The coven mask was placed there, along with the cloak. “I don’t know how they run around in these masks all the time, honestly.”

Oh, Amity knew something about that. “I heard they use a spell to make it easier to see.” She had seen that in a pamphlet for the coven once.

This drew Ed’s eyes back to her, finally with a spark of interest. “What spell do they use?”

Amity shook her head. “I don’t know, you should ask them tomorrow.”

“Guess I’ll have to.” Ed chuckled lowly, a forced sound. “Or I’ll trip over my own feet on the chase. It would be funny though, if it happened.”

Amity smiled at the mental image that provided. “Did you meet the new coven leader?” She asked, bringing the topic to something else she very much wanted to know.

Unfortunately, Ed shook his head no. “I met Kikimora and a few patrol witches, but didn’t see a coven leader.”

“I guess they wouldn’t visit the jail branch regularly.” Amity mused, bringing one hand up to her chin. “Or they haven’t promoted someone yet.”

“I think it’s the second one.” Ed chimed in. He turned back towards the desk, and then reached forward and batted the mask off the side of the table, causing it to fall to the floor with a light thunk. As expected, it was undamaged. “After the internship, I’m burying this in the yard.”

That drew a laugh from Amity. “Only if you don’t get caught.” Their mother would be so angry if she saw him doing that. Both because of what he was burying and where he was trying to bury it.

“With Em’s help, we can do it.” Ed said as he turned back to her with a straight face, deadly serious. Amity believed him; the two of them were extremely skilled in illusion magic. Their parents often couldn’t see through their tricks, which had been quite frustrating for Amity in the past.

“Good luck with that.” Amity chuckled. “I should get back to my room, lots of homework to do still.” She opened the door, getting ready to leave.

“That’s one perk I guess. I don’t miss homework, not one bit.” Ed said, picking his mask up off the floor. “Later then.”

Amity waved once, then left the room. She shut the door behind her and walked back down the hallway to her room. When she went inside, her abomination assignment was waiting right where she left it.

Unfortunately, it was hard to get refocused on it. She couldn’t stop thinking about the covens her siblings were interning at, the experiences they had on their first day.

Amity had always been excited about someday joining the Emperor’s Coven, but with Em not making the internship that meant Amity might not make it too. She knew there was always a chance of that, but honestly thought she would make it in if she worked hard. Em didn’t work hard, but she was one of the most skilled witches Amity knew. She had better focus than Ed and could make some amazing layered spells. Not that Amity had told her that; she had trouble expressing those kinds of things.

Ed wasn’t bad at magic of course, the opposite was true. He was quite skilled, but lacked the patience and persistence to truly shine.

If Em didn’t make it, what were her odds? Yes, Amity worked very hard to improve her magic, but she wasn’t nearly as naturally skilled as her siblings. This was just an internship for now, but it could turn into coven membership offers later. It was a big deal and was freaking Amity out.

She hadn’t even written another sentence on her assignment, instead she was just sitting there thinking.

Another train of thought was that both of her siblings hated their first day on the job. Amity had read all of the pamphlets about the Emperor’s Coven, but she didn’t know much about the workings of the rest. Even the abomination coven, which was run by her mother and was also her track in school, she knew minimum details. At the covention, she didn’t spend time looking at other covens. She was always so focused on the grand prize, she never dug into her second option.

It was certainly something to think about over the next few weeks.


	5. Day 2 - Emira

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Time for some important original character introductions.

When she arrived for her second day of the internship, Emira was far less optimistic than she had been the day before. After following the coven leader around and being forced to watch him perform basic illusion magic, she didn’t want to come back the second day.

Unluckily for her, the internship was required and she had no choice. There would be additional unknown horrors from her parents if she skipped it.

So she arrived right on time, making her way into the Illusion Coven building. The coven member who sat at the front desk, Emira had decided to think of him as a secretary, was sitting at his counter just like he had been previously.

He sat up straighter when he saw Emira, smiling brightly. “Good morning.” He greeted her before saying, “The coven leader is expecting you in his office.”

“Thanks.” Emira replied, before turning towards the employee door. She went through and walked the halls, double checking that she made the same turns as yesterday. She was able to reach the door without incident, though she did pass by another student from Hexside in the hallway. She didn’t know them too well, so she didn’t stop to talk.

Emira knocked on the door, and a moment later was told to come in. When she opened the door, she saw that the coven leader wasn’t alone in his office. Another witch was there with him, someone dressed in neutral colors with shoulder length straight brown hair. They had their back to the door, so Emira couldn’t see more than that.

The coven leader was sitting at his desk, ever present grin in place. “Emira, I would like to introduce you to Jennifer.” He gestured towards the other witch, who turned to look at Emira.

Jennifer was wearing a blouse and skirt, which Emira thought was not a very flashy look for the illusion coven. Emira wasn’t sure about her age, perhaps she was in her 30’s or so. Her brown eyes matched her hair, and Emira already felt like she was being examined closely. They hadn’t spoken yet, but it felt like Jennifer already could see right through her.

“She is one of our coven’s finest witches.” The coven leader continued speaking. “For the next four weeks you will shadow her as she works. She’ll show you all aspects of our wonderful coven!” He waved one hand in a flourish.

“Hi!” Jennifer chimed, waving rapidly at Emira. “It’s nice to meet you!” Her smile was large like the coven leader’s, but didn’t carry the same feeling of malice.

“Hi.” Emira replied with about a quarter of the enthusiasm.

“I’m so excited to work together!” Jennifer beamed. “Let’s head to my office, we have so much to talk about.” She stepped around Emira to the door, opening it to lead her out.

“Don’t forget what we talked about.” The coven leader called in a sing song voice as Jennifer set one foot out the door, causing her to pause mid step.

She looked back at him and nodded. “Of course.” Jennifer turned back to leave, pushing the door open far enough for Emira to follow behind her. She turned down the hallway and led Emira back towards the entrance, walking about half way there before stopping at an office door. The nameplate on the door said “Jennifer Smith”.

“Welcome to your office for the next month.” Jennifer said as she opened the door, holding it and gesturing for Emira to enter. “Go on in.”

Emira walked past her slowly, taking in the new room. It was about half the size of the coven leader’s office, with a smaller desk and only two chairs. The walls were decorated with light blue banners, representing the illusion coven. Her desk was covered in papers and some small items, though without getting closer Emira couldn’t see what they were. She had a few books as well, piled in the corner of the room. A staff with some kind of bird palisman was leaned against the desk.

Jennifer shut the door as she entered, moving around Emira to sit at her desk. Emira took this as a cue to sit as well, so she took the chair in front of the desk. She held her hands together in her lap, unsure of what she should say.

“This’ll be where we meet every morning before we head out on jobs. The door is unlocked, so if you beat me here you can just come in.” Jennifer said. It was interesting that she didn’t lock the door; she either didn’t have anything of value in here or she greatly trusted everyone else in the coven.

“Alright, I’ll come here then in the morning.” Emira replied with a nod.

Jennifer smiled at that. “Great,” she replied perkily. “You can call me Jen, by the way. Everyone shortens it.” The coven leader didn’t, Emira thought but didn’t comment on it. That was two things now, two points of interest.

“I’ll try to remember.” Emira replied, mentally changing the name she used for her.

Jen quickly jumped into a new topic. “So, tell me about yourself.” Jen leaned forward slightly as she posed the question, resting her arms on the desk.

Emira thought for a moment about what she should say. Her last name hadn’t been brought up yet, so perhaps she should just not mention it. “My name’s Emira, if you didn’t already hear it.”

Jen nodded. “Our coven leader told me a little bit about you, yes. I still want to hear from you.” Her eyes were locked on to Emira.

Interesting, she was much harder to read than the coven leader had been. “I’m in the illusion track at Hexside. I have a twin brother, he’s interning with the Emperor’s Coven.”

Jen sat up straighter as if that grabbed her interest. “Who’s older?” She asked, more curious about the fact that they were twins than his temporary membership with the Emperor’s Coven.

“He is, but only by twenty minutes.” Emira’s mother never let her forget those twenty agonizing minutes.

“I’ve always wondered what it would be like to have a twin.” Jen mused, looking up as she imagined it.

Emira shook her head; she'd been asked that question so many times. “It’s just like having regular siblings.”

For the first time since Emira met her, Jen slipped to a frown. “That’s too bad.” Her tone was glum, but quickly came back up with her next question. “What else should I know about you?” Her gaze had come back to Emira, with that feeling from earlier returning. The wording of the question only added to the thought that Jen could see right through her.

“Hmm, I’m excellent at illusion magic.” Emira couldn’t turn down a chance to brag, since Jen was asking. “Basically the top of my class.”

“Good to know.” Jen said with a nod. “We’ll have some hard jobs, so I’ll be counting on you.” That brought a spark of excitement back, one that had been lost in Emira’s many hours of boredom the day before. “We have two jobs today, so we have to get going soon. I hope that you learn a lot over the next four weeks, and I’m happy to be working with you!”

Emira smiled and nodded. “The same to you.” She already felt more interested than when she arrived that morning.

Jen rose from her chair, picking up her palisman staff from where it was leaning. “Let’s get going then, we have work to do!”

Emira stood as well, turning to follow Jen out of the office. They shut the door, leaving it unlocked of course, and walked towards the front to leave the coven. On their way out, Jen waved goodbye at the secretary.

Once they were outside, Jen flourished her staff horizontally. The palisman at the top spread its wings, allowing the staff to hover in the air. Now that it was open, Emira could tell that it was a dove.

Jen sat on it, near the front, keeping her legs on one side. She patted the back, gesturing for Emira to join her. “Don’t worry, Pippin is a great flyer.” Jen called back to her, which made her more nervous instead of less.

Taking a deep breath, Emira knew she had no choice. Despite her reservations about flying with someone she just met, she had to go. Emira sat down on the staff as well, one leg on each side for stability. She held on tight to the staff, then lifted her feet off the ground.

With a quick whistle from Jen, the staff started to move. It flew up and away from the coven, heading to the other side of Bonesborough.

“We’re helping a branch of the oracle coven this morning.” Jen said over the wind, looking back at Emira. “They want to use illusions to increase returning customers. We’re going to test some of their ideas today.”

So they were going to use some flashy illusions then? That was one of Emira’s specialties. She considered herself to specialize in all types of illusion magic, of course.

A few minutes later and the staff tilted down, heading for a large purple tent. Jen commented on the upgraded space as they landed and hopped off the staff. Emira’s legs shook slightly as she put her weight back on them, but the feeling faded a moment later.

A witch in a purple robe came out of the tent, likely having heard them arrive. “Welcome!” She said, coming forward to shake Jen’s hand vigorously. “We’re so excited to have you here.”

“We’re glad to help.” Jen returned the shake firmly. “Where do you want us inside?” She asked as she released the oracle member.

“Ah yes, this way please.” The oracle member started telling them about the job as she led them into the tent. “We want to do some special effects to match the fortune being told. For example, if they have love in their future little hearts could appear over them. Stuff like that.”

“We can definitely do that for you.” Jen said confidently, with Emira not far behind her. The inside of the tent looked larger than it did from the outside. It had a small table in the center, with two chairs nearby and a large crystal ball perched upon it. The outer walls of the tent were decorated with large purple stars.

The pair followed the oracle member to one of the walls, where she told them to stay. “The customers won’t be able to see you from here. At least, not while they’re having their fortune read.” That was how she explained the location. “Customers will be coming soon; they’ll sit in the center with me.”

“We’ll be ready.” Jen assured her with a smile. When the oracle member walked away, she turned to Emira. “Here’s what I’m thinking,” she said, casting an illusion spell quickly to make little light versions of herself and Emira. “I’ll take the changing images.” The mini illusion her cast a spell to make mini illusion images. “I want you to make a light layer of fog, just the bottom two feet of the tent, to make the overhead illusions really pop.”

This was better than yesterday, since with the coven leader she hadn’t been able to contribute at all, but it still felt like an insult. “Just the fog?” Emira asked, trying not to sound as offended as she felt.

“It’ll enhance the effect of the illusion images.” Jen didn’t really answer the question. “I’m sure you will do a great job!” That also was not what Emira wanted to hear.

It wasn’t worth it though, protesting again. Emira sighed and accepted it, then asked, “How thick do you want the fog?” Might as well get it right.

Jen brought one hand up to her chin as she thought. “Thick enough so they can’t see us here when they come in, so probably denser around the edges and thinner in the middle.”

Emira nodded, she could do that with no problems. She lifted her arm to make a large magic circle, this would have to be a big spell to cover the whole tent. When the circle was completed, a light grey fog appeared out of it. Emira directed it with her finger, sending it throughout the room.

As instructed, she kept it denser along the outside of the tent. The center could still be seen from the side, but the sides could not be seen from the center.

Jen was looking around, nodding at what she saw. “This is perfect.” She said, walking towards the center of the tent to see it from every angle. “Absolutely splendid, great work Emira!”

It wasn’t anything too special, Emira thought, just a single fog spell spread wider than one cast would normally allow. Of course, now she would have to hold the spell for however many hours they were here. That would prove to be a bigger challenge than the initial casting.

Emira sat down to make it easier to hold, knowing that the biggest obstacle would be if she got too bored and lost focus on the spell. She crossed her legs and kept her mind on the fog.

In the middle of the room, Jen was practicing some of the illusion images she was going to make. Emira could see them in her peripheral vision, but she wasn’t watching. The coven leader’s skills before had been pure disappointment; she didn’t expect much better for Jen.

Perhaps that was doing her a disservice, but Emira didn’t care.

This job, of holding a fog spell in place, was mind numbingly boring.

Even when customers started coming in, which brought Jen back to cast from near Emira, she was still bored. She wasn’t interested in eavesdropping on their fortunes, though if one of her siblings had come by that would’ve grabbed her interest. She just had to keep the fog spell up and nothing else.

At one point, about an hour in to the job, another Hexside student came in. It was a potions track student, one of the underclassmen who were too young for the internship. He sat down to get his fortune read, like all the rest, but Emira saw an opportunity.

She could maintain the fog spell and another illusion, she had done harder layered magic before. With a spin of her finger she made a glowing ghost like apparition appear, just over the oracle member’s shoulder. It hovered there, in place for when the Hexside student looked up. His face would be hilarious when he saw it.

Unfortunately, Emira had forgotten about Jen. Jen glanced at her once and then, without a word, Jen drew a reverse magic circle. It glowed with power and made Emira’s illusion image disappear. The pull of magic when it popped almost yanked the fog spell out of Emira’s control, but she was able to hold it.

How in the Boiling Isles did Jen do that? Emira knew about being able to cancel other witches illusions in theory, but had never seen it done in practice.

Emira sighed, perhaps she would have to keep an eye on Jen after all, then went back to focusing on her fog spell and just how bored she was.


	6. Day 2 - Edric

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And here comes the second important original character. Update on NaNo, I'm 30k words in to the fic and on track to hit 50k before the end of the month. Thanks everybody who has been reading, leaving kudos, and commenting on this fic so far!

The start of day 2 was almost the same as the first. Edric walked slowly to the jail, though this time wearing his new uniform. He carried the mask, enjoying the last part of his day where he’d be able to see properly. He held onto it with just enough force not to drop it, barely holding it between two fingers.

When he arrived, sighing at the sight of the building, Edric knew he was a few minutes late. Honestly though, he couldn’t bring himself to care.

He walked slowly into the building, then through the Emperor’s Coven door. He only put the mask on when he entered the coven’s wing of the building, once again cutting off his peripheral vision.

After the long patrol in the market the day before, Mike didn’t tell Edric where to report the next day. He actually said he didn’t know what Edric would be doing, and suggested that he check with the dispatcher in the morning.

Since this was a suggestion and not an order, Edric didn’t feel obligated to obey.

After passing the offices, Edric went straight through the hallway intersection. It was time to see the staff lounge, since he hadn’t been able to go in there yesterday. He passed by a coven member on the way, who didn’t react to his presence. The mask helped with anonymity.

Edric opened the door to the staff lounge upon reaching it, entering the room. It was small, about the same size as the dispatcher’s office. There were a couple rundown looking couches near a table on one side, with an icebox and counter on the other. Only one coven member was inside when Edric entered, standing strangely near the door. He wouldn’t know who it was until they spoke.

The coven member watched Edric enter, before greeting him. “Good morning Edric!” He said loudly, allowing Edric to identify him as one of the patrol witches he met the day before. He was pretty sure that this one was Anderson.

“Morning.” Edric replied, not wanting to come off as rude but mostly not wanting to engage in conversation. He looked around the room, not impressed with the inside. It needed some color, he’d consult with Em later about which color would be best. It would be simple too apply it to the walls.

“I was just looking for you.” Anderson said, pulling Edric’s attention back to him. Edric didn’t believe that. He was supposed to go to the dispatcher, not to the staff lounge, so it wasn’t a great place to look for him. Unless, Anderson was one step ahead and knew he’d go there. How crafty of him. “My name is Frederick Anderson, we met briefly yesterday.” So, Anderson had been his last name. Edric made a mental note of it. “I have your assignment for today. Not just that, your assignment for the next few weeks.”

He paused for a moment, prompting Edric to ask, “What is it?” He had one eyebrow raised, though it wasn’t visible underneath the mask.

“I’ll be mentoring you. For the next four weeks we’ll go on patrols, hone our magic, and show the public just how great the Emperor’s Coven is!” Frederick pumped his fist with the last part, voice rising in volume.

So he was going to spend the next four weeks with this guy? Edric wasn’t thrilled; he seemed too gung-ho to match well with him. “Alright.” Edric responded simply, withholding a sigh.

“We’ll meet every morning by the locker room, then go to the dispatcher for assignment.” Frederick moved past Edric to the door as he spoke, opening it. “Which is where we’re going now.”

This time Edric sighed; his time to hang out in the staff lounge was vanishing before his eyes. He bit back a complaint and followed Frederick out. They walked back towards the intersection to head to the dispatcher’s office. Edric stayed behind him, out of sight.

“You go to Hexside, right?” Frederick asked as they walked. He was looking back over his shoulder; if Edric tried to do that while wearing the mask he would trip for sure.

“Yup, graduating next year.” Edric said with a nod, wondering why Frederick was asking.

“Feels like forever since I visited.” They turned the corner. “How’s principal Bump doing? Still hanging in there?” He sounded fond of the old witch.

Edric tried to keep his interactions with principal Bump to a minimum. “I think so, he’s still the principal.”

As Ed finished speaking, they reached dispatcher’s office. Frederick opened the door and entered, with Edric close behind.

The dispatcher was alone in the room, writing on one of the many papers that littered his desk. He looked up when they entered.

“Hello!” Frederick greeted him enthusiastically. “Where are we assigned for today?”

The dispatcher looked down and flipped through his papers, stopping on one and picking it up. “You’re off patrol for today, assigned to the training room.” Oh, training instead of patrol. For Edric, this could be way better than going on patrol, though it still sounded like a lot of work.

Fredrick flashed a thumbs up. “Thanks, we’ll be there if you need us.”

With a nod, the dispatcher dismissed them from his office. The pair left the room and started walking back across the building.

They were about halfway there when Edric had a random thought that he had to ask about. “Can I call you Fred?” It was easier to say than Frederick.

“No.” Frederick replied immediately, not even taking a moment to think about it.

Edric smirked, “Are you sure?”

This time Fredrick stopped, turning his head to look right at Edric. “Yes, I’m sure.” He said firmly, before continuing to walk.

Edric made a mental note of the exchange; this could make good prank material later.

A minute later the pair reached their destination and entered the training hall.

A couple coven members were already there training, but there was plenty of space for them too. Frederick walked to one of the empty corners, signaling for Edric to follow him.

“How much combat experience do you have?” Frederick asked when they stopped.

Edric thought about it. He had helped fight a slitherbeast before, but other than that he didn’t have any. “Very little.” He admitted, adding an additional detail. “And I can’t imagine fighting in this mask.”

“We can fix that.” Fredrick lifted one finger to casting position. “There’s an illusion spell that lets you see out, but keeps the outside solid.” Ooh an illusion spell. That was right up Edric’s alley. “Let me show you.”

Frederick spun his finger to cast the spell, making a small magic circle. A moment later the spell took effect, and Edric gasped audibly in shock. All of the sudden, his mask was transparent. He could see out of it in every direction, not just through the eye holes. He took it off and turned it around, but the other side was still solid white.

“Very impressive.” Illusion magic was the best; Edric fully believed that. He put the mask back on.

“You try it next.” Frederick canceled the spell, returning Edric to not being able to see.

Edric lifted his hand, carefully drawing the magic circle. When the spell activated, his mask again became transparent from the inside. It wasn’t as clear of an image as Frederick’s spell had been, but it was great for a first attempt. He would have to keep the spell up for a while, but if it failed he could always reapply it.

“It works.” Edric said with a nod. His animosity towards the mask was quickly decreasing, but he still planned to bury it after everything was over.

“Good work!” Frederick sounded excited, though it was hard to tell without being able to see his face. “So that’s one combat obstacle down. What kind of magic do you specialize in?”

Edric stood straighter as he responded. “Illusion magic, near the top of my class.” He bragged, which he felt was earned after performing that spell correctly on the first try. He also had earned a spot to intern at the Emperor’s Coven, which was nothing to sneeze at.

“That’ll be useful, we do a lot of illusion spells. What other types can you do?”

This was a point of shame. “None at all.” Edric shook his head with a derisive chuckle, he was terrible at other types of magic.

“We’ll see about that.” Frederick replied, something that Edric didn’t like the sound of. “Let’s start with illusions though. Do you know any rope or net spells?”

Edric drew a magic circle, summoning a rope illusion. “Rope, check.” He swung the rope overhead, like a lasso, then flung it in Frederick’s direction. Instead of wrapping around him as intended, it bounced off and vanished. Edric just stared in shocked silence.

“Magic ward.” Frederick said simply. “We’ll get to it someday. For now, I think you should learn a couple of other spells.”

“I really don’t want to.” Edric replied dryly. There was no way this would go well.

“That’s the spirit.” Frederick was undeterred by Edric’s lack of enthusiasm. “We’ll start with a plant spell.” He lifted his hand again to cast a spell, this time drawing a green magic circle. A few roots grew out of the dirt floor, reaching a few inches off the ground. “This spell can be used to grab the ankles of someone trying to escape. Go ahead and try it.”

Before so much as lifting a finger, Edric knew he wasn’t going to be able to do this spell. He had tried a plant spell once before, and couldn’t get a plant to wiggle let alone grow. He slowly lifted his hand, trying to create the magic circle. He made it about half way around before it wobbled and collapsed. Frowning, Edric tried again to cast it. He was able to close the circle, but when the spell activated it had no effect.

Frederick cast another spell, drawing a single root further above the ground. He left it there, sticking up. “Try again, focus on just this one.”

Edric sighed, but did as he was told. He remade the spell circle, focusing the spell on the one root. When it activated the root twitched, but otherwise didn’t move.

Each subsequent attempt reminded Edric why he didn’t bother with plant magic. It just didn’t work well for him, not at all.

They worked on the spell for a while, and eventually Edric was able to make the root move slightly. With that achieved Frederick was satisfied enough to let him move on to a different spell.

“Next, you need to be able to do a basic healing spell.” Frederick said, causing Edric’s stomach to drop even further. His healing magic was just as bad as his plant magic. “Just to heal small cuts, I’ll demonstrate.” Frederick first cut a small portion of the root, then made a small magic circle to demonstrate the spell. When it activated, it healed the root completely.

Frederick made it look easy, but for Edric it wouldn’t be. First, he tore a notch into the root again so he’d have something to heal. Then he spun his finger to cast the spell, luckily able to complete it on the first try. Unfortunately, there was no impact on the root.

Frustration growing, Edric tried again. His second attempt still had no effect; somehow this was worse than the plant spell.

“Try to remain calm.” Frederick couldn’t see his face, but he seemed to sense his irritation. “Healing spells don’t work if you’re agitated.”

Saying that did not help Edric follow through on it and his next few casts of the spell had similarly bad results.

They continued like this for some time, trying to get the spell to work. Edric had little luck, even less than with the plant spell.

“How about this.” Edric remarked after yet another failed attempt. “I’ll just use illusion spells instead.” He was getting nowhere with this.

Frederick was, unfortunately, turning out to be quite stubborn. “Not everything can be replaced with illusion magic.” He stated firmly.

“I disagree.” Edric wasn’t going to back down on this. “That plant spell, I can match it with an illusion.” He drew an illusion circle, which was wonderfully easy after struggling for so long with plants and healing. It triggered a wave of small illusion ropes, popping out of the ground. “Works just as well.” He crossed his arms.

“But if you lose focus, the spell will break.” Frederick countered with a shake of his head. “You still need to learn the plant one. And there’s no replacing healing with illusions.”

Edric grimaced beneath his mask, but couldn’t think of a good spell to counter with on the spot. “We’ll see.” He said, making a note to ask Em later if she knew of an illusion spell that could heal.

“For now, keep working on the two new spells. I’m going to be doing some training on my own, if you need anything come grab me.” Fredrick pointed to a spot about ten feet away, where he would go to train.

That was fine by Edric, time alone to work was way better than what they’d been doing. He nodded once, and Frederick left to do his own training.

Now on his own, Edric immediately abandoned the new spells. He worked on practicing his illusion based net spells, trying to find the best one that had a short cast time.

Edric kept his back to Frederick; he had no interest in watching the other witch train.

He also kept trying to think of how to replace healing with illusions, but didn’t have much luck with that.


	7. Day 2 - Amity

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I recognize that Odalia is probably not head of the abomination coven. I'm rolling with it anyway.

When Amity told her siblings that school was quiet without them, she hadn’t been kidding. The halls were emptier, the cafeteria had more open seats, and the overall chaos level of the school was greatly diminished without their presence. It was a nice change.

Today was the second day of their absence and school had just ended for the day. Amity had put her books away and was currently walking towards the front of the school. She had a lot on her mind since the day before, after hearing about her siblings’ internships.

It had her wondering about her own future and what coven she might join after graduating from Hexside. What if she didn’t make the cut for the Emperor’s Coven? If she didn’t join the Emperor’s Coven, where would she go?

Those thoughts filled Amity’s mind as she neared the front of the school building. She was planning to visit the library, maybe do some reading in her hideout. At least, that was the plan until she saw Luz.

Her friend was wearing her usual school uniform, with the rainbow sleeves and leggings that designated her as being in every track. It was a cute look for her, though Amity didn’t have the nerve to tell her that.

She was walking ahead of Amity, on her way out of the school and bouncing a little with each step. She must’ve been happy or excited about something, which Amity loved to see. Wait, no, hated to see.

As if she felt Amity’s eyes on her, Luz turned to look her way. When their eyes met, a huge wonderful radiant smile spread across her face. Amity’s cheeks were warm as Luz lifted a hand to wave at her, changing course abruptly to walk her way.

“Amity!” Luz called out her name as she approached, a sound that always set Amity’s heart fluttering. “Are you doing anything after school?” She asked enthusiastically, the pair stopping a couple feet away from each other.

Solidifying her plans in her mind, Amity replied. “I’m thinking about doing some reading at the library.” After saying it, she wondered if she should invite Luz to join her. She wanted to invite Luz, wanted to hang out with her, but could she say it? Just the thought of doing it was warming her face and probably turning it red.

“Sound like fun.” Luz didn’t seem to notice, she just carried on with the conversation. “Eda is making this huuuge toxic potion at the Owl House, she told me to _stay away or else_.” Luz dropped her voice to imitate Eda for the last few words, then burst out laughing at her impression.

If Luz didn’t have anywhere to go that afternoon, that changed things. Amity didn’t need courage, not if Luz needed her!

“Would you uh,” She took it back, maybe Amity did need some of that courage. The way Luz’s brown eyes locked on hers wasn’t helping. “Like to come with me?”

If Luz’s smile could grow any larger it would’ve. “Absolutely! This’ll be so much fun!” She bounced slightly on the balls of her feet, even as she stood still. “There are so many books I haven’t read yet.”

“Do you have one in mind?” Amity was curious what Luz had been reading about. She was interested in the strangest things sometimes.

“Hmm.” Luz thought about it for a moment, then grinned. “Nope!”

Amity smiled at that, it was so typical of her but somehow still so charming. “I’ve been wondering,” Amity said, changing the topic to what had been on her mind for the last day. “What coven are you going to join?”

“Hmmmmmm.” Luz brought one hand up to her chin, thinking for even longer than before. Her eyebrows were scrunched together. To be fair, it was a much harder question. “I can’t decide, they’re all so cool.” She finally said, bringing her hands together in emphasis.

“That’s true,” Amity couldn’t help but smile for a moment, before her concerns about the Emperor’s Coven resurfaced in her mind. “I ask because, well, I’ve been thinking about it lately, which coven I want to join.”

“Have you picked one?” Luz asked, tilting her head slightly with the question.

Amity shook her head, “That’s the thing. I always thought I would join the Emperor’s Coven, but now I’m not sure. With everything that’s been going on, and with Em not making the cut, I don’t know anymore.” It felt strange to admit it, that she might not join the Emperor’s Coven. Now that she had said it, it felt more real than before. It had been her dream for so many years, to admit it might not happen felt like conceding a loss.

Luz was still looking right at her, eyes glimmering with ideas. “There are lots of other choices!” She stepped closer as she spoke, her voice louder than before. “Like abominations, or the other covens.”

“Abominations is an option.” It wasn’t ideal though, especially since her mother was head of the coven. She didn’t want to share that detail with Luz; it didn’t feel necessary. “But I don’t know what working there is like.” She had never asked her mother, since she never felt the desire to and never felt like she would get a meaningful answer if she did.

“We can totally find out.” Luz reached forward abruptly, taking Amity’s hand in her own. Amity’s face grew hot at the contact, a now familiar feeling, and she couldn’t find the words to protest. “I know just who to ask.”

Luz’s grip was firm as she started walking back into the school, practically dragging Amity behind her. After a few steps Amity was able to gain her footing and follow along, but Luz didn’t relinquish her hand. It was almost like they were holding hands, but not quite. Either way her heart was pounding out of control.

They walked down a couple hallways before reaching a wing of the school Amity knew well. It was the abomination classrooms, where she spent many hours of her days. They stopped in front of one of the classrooms, where Luz released Amity’s hand.

Amity looked down at her now empty hand while Luz poked her head into one of the classrooms. She seemed to find what she was looking for, since she then entered the room. Amity could hear her faintly from the hallway saying, “Hi Mr. Abomination Professor!”

Amity quickly entered the room as well, finding Luz talking with the abomination teacher. He was being held by an abomination as usual and appeared to have been half way through writing something on the board when Luz interrupted him.

“Good afternoon Luz, Amity.” He acknowledged both of them in turn, nodding in their directions. “What can I do for you?” He put his chalk down on the black board ledge.

“I have a question.” Luz raised her hand as if waiting to be called on. When he gestured in her direction, a bemused smile on his face, she continued. “What is it like working for the abomination coven?”

“I’m surprised to hear that question from the two of you.” He replied, having his abomination carry him away from the whiteboard and closer to the two of them. Amity knew he meant because of her mother and because her years in the abomination track, but she was still curious about what he would say. “I’ll still answer it of course.”

“Thank you!” Luz exclaimed, beaming. Amity nodded her thanks as well.

“The abomination coven places witches in a variety of jobs.” The abomination teacher went back to the board, picking up his chalk. He started to write a list on the board. “They primarily work in fighting roles. This includes assisting the Emperor’s Coven, performative fighting, and other supporting positions.”

“Performative fighting?” Luz’s eyes were sparkling, like she was imagining something. “Like abomination sumo?” What was sumo? Amity had never heard of that.

“I don’t know what that is.” The abomination teacher chuckled. “But there is a professional abomination wrestling ring, which might be similar. They host matches, all between coven members. It’s the last week of the season.”

“Ooh.” Luz turned to Amity. “We have to go to one.” She looked so excited and eager.

Amity couldn’t say no to her. “I’ll try to get tickets.” She wanted to go too, to see what it was like.

“Yes!” Luz pumped her fist once. “I’m so excited!” Then she seemed to remember where she was, and turned back to the abomination teacher. “Thanks for helping us.”

He smiled broadly. “You are very welcome. Run along now, go enjoy your afternoon.”

“See you tomorrow.” Amity said while Luz waved, the pair moving towards the door. A moment later and they had left, shutting the classroom door behind them.

“We should look for books about abomination wrestling at the library.” Luz said as they started walking back towards the front of the school. “I’m so curious, how do they wrestle?”

“There are probably books on that.” Amity had seen many books for each of the major covens around the library.

Luz wasn’t prepared to drop the topic yet. “I bet they’re like,” she raised her arms up in front of her, and made the exaggerated zombie face she’d been using when they first met. “blaaaah!”

Amity giggled, she couldn’t help it. Luz was too funny for her own good. When she regained her composure, she looked back at Luz. She had a small smile on her face and had been watching Amity laugh. Amity fought off a blush, pulling her eyes away to focus on walking straight.

They soon reached the front of the school and left to go to the library.

At the library, Luz was able to find many books about abomination wrestling, but none of them had pictures. She would have to wait to see what it was like.

Amity knew where the tickets were sold, she would probably even get a discount. She would go later to buy some. Hopefully they wouldn’t be sold out.

For now though, she enjoyed her time with Luz.


	8. Day 3 - Amity

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Surprise, another Amity chapter! It made more sense to have two in a row than to split them up. This chapter was a lot of fun to write.

As expected, after leaving the library yesterday Amity was able to buy two tickets to the abomination wrestling match. The match was the very next day, which meant they wouldn’t have to wait. Since it was the final match of the season it was almost sold out, with only some of the farthest seats left, but that was fine. Amity had bought two seats together and brought them to school in the morning.

When she arrived at school, she looked around to find Luz. She didn’t want to wait until the afternoon to tell her about the tickets, since Luz could make other plans. She also couldn’t wait to see how Luz reacted to the news.

Luckily, she saw Luz in the central area of the school, still walking to her first class. Amity called out to her, probably louder than she needed to, but it was alright since Luz stopped to look her way.

“Hey.” Luz greeted her, looking like she was trying to shift her books and free a hand to wave. The books were too heavy for her to hold in one hand, so she gave up.

“I got the tickets.” Amity blurted out as she reached her, cursing herself for not explaining first when Luz looked confused. “For abomination wrestling.” She hastily clarified.

“That’s amazing!” Luz grinned, shaking her books with excitement. Seeing her happy like this always warmed Amity’s heart.

“It’s right after school, want to meet out front?” Besides seeing how excited Luz would be, Amity also wanted to coordinate plans with her.

“I’ll see you there!” Luz almost dropped her books, trying again to free one of her hands and again, failing to do so.

Amity said goodbye as she turned to head to class. “See you later.” The two then parted ways, with plans set to meet up after school for the abomination wrestling match.

The rest of the school day passed by as it usually did. Amity took notes, raised her hand to answer questions, and learned a few things in her classes. Before she knew it, the final bell was ringing and it was time to meet Luz.

Amity stowed her books and walked to the designated meeting place outside. She was excited both to spend more time with Luz and to see the abomination wrestling. It was certain to be a spectacle.

When Amity reached the front of the school, Luz was already standing there waiting. She had a bit of a bounce to her knees, like she couldn’t contain her energy. She was watching the school door and her eyes lit up when she saw Amity.

Luz waved with her whole arm as Amity approached, with Amity returning the gesture in a much smaller motion.

“Let’s go!” Luz exclaimed as the pair started walking. Amity took the lead, since she knew where they were going. It was pretty close to the market and would only take about ten minutes to walk there.

They talked on the way, about their classes and the hijinks Eda had been up to lately. It turned out when Luz got back to the Owl House the day before, part of one of the walls had been singed and almost destroyed. Eda had passed it off as an unfortunate casualty of her experimental potion, but Luz wondered if Lilith had anything to do with it. Hooty was refusing to talk to either of them, which was highly unusual.

Amity listened to her talk, adding in comments occasionally. Luz told stories in such an interesting way; Amity couldn’t help but want to listen.

Before Amity knew it, they had reached their destination. The abomination wrestling matches were held in a tall, large tent, which towered over the two young witches. It had large grey and purple vertical stripes around it, representing the color of abominations.

Witches of all ages were lined up to get inside, waiting to hand their tickets to the attendant. Amity and Luz entered the line behind them to wait their turn. While they waited, Amity took the tickets out of her bag. She had bought two, exactly the number they needed.

The line moved quickly, so they soon reached the front. Amity handed the tickets to the attendant, who accepted them, but not without stopping to stare in surprise as they passed him. Amity knew all of these coven members and staff worked for her mother. She just hoped they wouldn’t be too weird about it around her and Luz.

Those thoughts left her mind when she entered the tent. The inside was lit up with a variety of candles and magic lights, some projecting images of abominations on the walls. Streamers lined the overhead light structure, giving it all a festive feel. Luz was looking up with her mouth slightly open, gaping at the sight.

Ahead of the entrance, there was a gap between the tall bleachers. Amity tapped Luz on the shoulder to get her attention, then gestured to where they needed to go. When they passed through that gap, they could see the wrestling ring. It was big, about 20 feet across if Amity had to guess. The outside of it had a thick rope to mark the boundary. There was additional line in the sand behind that, much thinner, that would form a magic boundary.

Amity tore her eyes away from the ring to look for their seats. The whole ring was surrounded by bleachers, with the only gap being at the entrance. Each section was labeled with a number, with each row then labeled with a letter and seat numbers.

Amity and Luz had seats in section six, in the second to last row. Amity located it after looking around. “Our seats are up there.” She tapped Luz on the shoulder, and then pointed up at their seats.

The two went to the stairs to climb up, past the many other fight attendees who were already in their seats. Once they reached their row, Amity went first in squeezing past the other witches to get to the right spot. Behind her, she could hear Luz apologizing to each witch she passed.

When she finally reached her seat, Amity sat immediately down on it. Well, it was less of a seat and more of a spot on a bench with her assigned number, but she wasn’t complaining. Even from way back here, she could still see the ring clearly.

“These are great seats!” Luz said as she sat down next to her. She had her hands lifted as fake binoculars, aimed down at the ring. “I’m so excited!” She brought her hands down, turning to Amity. “Abominations are so cool”

“They are.” Amity agreed with a much calmer tone and volume. Luz’s enthusiasm was infectious.

“I can’t wait.” Luz clapped her hands together in excitement.

Even though Luz said she couldn’t wait, they still had to for a few more minutes. There was a buzz of conversation in the crowd and a hint of tension in the air. A faint hint of of abomination magic lingered in the air as well, likely since so much of it was cast there.

The match finally started when a witch appeared from the bleacher gap, dressed in a brightly colored costume. “Ladies and Gentlemen!” He called into a magic microphone, which spread his voice throughout the tent. “Are you ready?”

After the question he held the mic towards the audience, who called back “Yeah!” all together. The noise startled Amity slightly.

“Let me introduce our wrestlers for today! In the north, we have Abomamama!” He gestured towards the north side of the ring, with a magic spotlight appearing at the same moment. It highlighted a witch in a purple and yellow outfit. She struck a pose for the crowd, showing off her stature and muscles. The crowd cheered, including Luz who shook one fist in the air.

“In the south, we have returning champion Snowbomination!” He moved his hand south, the spotlight going with him to highlight a different witch. She was wearing a similar outfit, but with white and purple instead of yellow. She dropped to the ground to do pushups, earning her much applause.

Amity clapped for them both as she glanced over at Luz, who had practically jumped out of her seat to cheer. She was surprisingly into it considering she had never heard of the sport before yesterday.

When she looked back down at the ring, the announcer was explaining the rules. “This will be a match between two abominations. The first to disintegrate or fall out of the ring will be defeated. Winner takes the championship! Let’s have a clean match today.” He lifted his hand, holding up three fingers. The two witches cast their circles, summoning their abominations on their side of the ring.

These abominations were huge, way bigger than any Amity could summon. They had darker colors as well, probably made of materials specifically to help fight other abominations. Amity would have to do some research to say for sure.

“Count down with me.” The announcer called to the audience. “3! 2! 1! Begin!” He threw his hand down at begin, and the abominations surged into action.

The witches on both sides called out orders as they moved, telling the abominations what to do. The two abominations lurched towards the center of the ring, faster than Amity’s abomination could move but still slowly.

When the two met in the middle they both roared, lifting arms to grapple with the other. It was harder to tell which one was which when they were this close. They toppled to the ground, still wrestling for control.

One of the witches whistled, and her abomination freed itself to back away. When the other one rose it wasn’t as tall as it had started, showing that it had lost the first encounter and taken some damage. It roared defiantly before they clashed again.

The crowd cheered with every blow, calling the names of the witches. Luz was right there with them, cheering for Abomamama at the top of her lungs. Amity was drawn into the spirit of the event as well, but kept her cheers quieter.

It looked cool and like it took a lot of abomination skill to do well. The two abominations were extremely well trained and responded quickly to their witch. In terms of a career though, Amity couldn’t see herself doing this. It was a lot of fun to watch, but it wasn’t the career for her.

Unfortunately, her track could lead her there anyway. If she didn’t make the Emperor’s Coven, this could be where she ended up. She looked at the two witches, now shouting in each other’s faces as their abominations continued to grapple.

Despite the noise and fervor around her, that sent a chill down her spine. It was a sobering thought.

The match continued below, with Abomamama extending her lead. Her abomination was slowly moving the other towards the edge as they wrestled, getting ready to push it out. The crowd clamored for a win as they neared the edge.

On the sideline, Snowbomination was calling orders to her abomination with little response. It was barely hanging in there, barely still standing.

Abomamama whistled loudly and lifted one finger to the sky in some kind of hand signal. Her abomination lurched to action, leaning down to lift the other onto its gooey shoulder. It then surged forward, stopping ahead of the line to launch the other abomination. The losing one flew surprisingly far, crossing the line and smashing into an invisible barrier before it could reach the stands.

A large ding rang out, signaling the end of the match. The crowd, including Luz, went wild. Amity joined in too, unable to resist the mood despite her distracting thoughts.

Snowbomination ran over to kneel by it, while Abomamama joined hers in the ring to celebrate. She raised both arms in the air in victory, with her abomination doing the same. The crowd whooped and stomped their feet to cheer, with the announcer re-appearing.

“Our new champion, Abomamama!” He shouted into the mic, bringing the spotlight onto the witch with a sweep of his hand. The crowd continued for a few minutes, before the cheering died down. “Thank you all for a great season!” The announcer continued. “As you leave, please proceed carefully out of the arena.” He waved around at the crowd as they started to move. He called out a final farewell, before vanishing from the ring.

Amity and Luz had to wait another few minutes for their turn, since they were sitting all the way in the back. Once it was time, they walked down the steps and followed the rest of the crowd out of the tent.

“That was amazing!” Luz was still talking way louder than usual, since her ears were used to the noise of the crowd. “She was like, pow, and then the other one was like, bam!” With each sound she faked lunging, moving similar to how the abominations did.

Amity walked alongside her, heading in the general vicinity of their homes. “I liked it too.” She said, trying not to talk too loudly like Luz was. “Their abominations are very strong.”

“I have to try it.” Luz had pulled out her little square notebook, where she drew the glyphs for her spells. “If only I could summon an abomination, it just looks so fun.” It made sense that Luz would want to do it, after all she was studying every track. She still couldn’t summon abominations though.

“I’m not sure that I would want to.” Amity admitted, voicing what she had been thinking about during the match. “I mean, I can’t imagine doing that as a job. I don’t know what I want to do.”

“What about other covens?” Luz asked, either forgetting or not caring that Amity was studying abomination magic. Knowing her, it was probably the latter.

“I don’t know what they’re like.” Amity said with a shake of her head.

A grin grew on Luz’s face. “We’ll find out then. Just like today, we can visit them and see what they do!”

As Amity looked at Luz, she was again struck with how incredible this girl was.

“Alright, let’s do it.”


	9. Day 4 - Emira

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here comes the last NaNo update, since November is about to end. I’m at 48 thousand words and am halfway through writing chapter 23 out of the 35 expected. I’ll let you know when the whole thing is done.

As Emira arrived at the Illusion Coven building, she was glad that the week was almost over.

Surprisingly, Emira beat Jen to her office. She hadn’t come any earlier than usual, if four days of trends were enough to say it was as usual, but Jen’s office was empty when she arrived.

Emira had been there a couple times at that point, but never for long enough to look around. Now that she had the opportunity, she wasn’t going to pass it up.

When Emira sat down in the chair on the other side of the desk, she could finally see what all of the clutter was on her desk.

The papers, it turned out, were full of illusion spell theory. They were scribbled across uneven lines and included drawings of what the spells might look like. The diagrams listed layers together and formed complicated spells. From these, it seemed like Jen was studying complex illusion magic, far more complex that what Emira was learning at Hexside. Either she was researching it herself or someone else had given these to her.

There were also a couple picture frames on the desk, showing a small dog beast. Its image had been captured from numerous angles and was displayed prominently. As for the trinkets, they seemed to be various items. One was a deck of cards, another a set of small red balls in metal cups. There was a coin as well. Emira wasn’t sure what they were for, or what they even were.

Emira wondered what was in the drawers, but was interrupted from her snooping by Jen’s voice. “That desk suits you.” She called from the door, causing Emira to snap her eyes up to her. Jen looked at ease, like she didn’t suspect anything was amiss.

“Oh, hey.” Emira stood slowly from the chair, playing it cool and pretending she hadn’t been about to look through Jen’s things. “Good morning.”

Jen nodded at her, leaving the door to the office open as she fully entered. “Good morning.” She returned the greeting. “I was just getting our job briefing, it’s a good one.”

Emira thought that her definition of a good job was very different than Jen’s. “What are we doing?” She still asked; maybe things would be different today.

“There’s a play being performed today and tomorrow that needs help with special effects and lighting. It’s going to require some complex magic, but I’m confident that you can handle it.” Jen said with a smile, bringing a spark of hope to Emira. Maybe this job would be good, she hoped it would be. “We have to go, so we can practice during rehearsal.” She turned to leave the office, waiting outside the door to Emira to follow.

They shut the door and weaved back through the hallways to reach the front of the building, exiting out to the city streets. Jen said it was nearby, so they would walk instead of flying. Emira didn’t mind that, as long as the weather was good.

While they walked, Emira wondered what kind of magic she’d get to do. It could be pyrotechnics, like fireballs. Another option was large colored or flashing lights, those would be fun to make. Oh but maybe it would be some subtler magic, like making something invisible and then have it appear on stage at just the right moment. All of them sounded fun; there were so many possibilities.

By the time they reached their location, a medium sized building with the word “Theater” plastered on the front of it, Emira was almost excited for the job. She followed Jen in, looking around the space as they walked through. Emira hadn’t been to this theater before, but she had passed by it numerous times.

It seemed like Jen had been there before, since she walked through the lobby and into the back of the building like she knew where she was going. They passed through the hallway to a backstage area, where Jen found a witch with a clipboard.

In both construction and in theater, the witch with the clipboard was in charge. Emira mentally chuckled at that while Jen introduced them to the witch, who turned out to be the director of the play.

“I’m glad there’s two of you, we need a lot of illusions.” The director said, scribbling something down on her clipboard. “We need some fire in act 1, not real fire just an illusion,” She clarified that like it had been an issue before. “Some confetti in act 2, and spotlight work throughout the performance.” Behind the director, witches were scurrying around with set pieces and wearing partial costumes.

Jen thought about it for a moment, glancing at Emira. “I’ll take the fire and the confetti; my coworker will handle the spotlight.” What, no that was the opposite of what Emira wanted. She wanted to make the fire, not the spotlight. She didn’t have a chance to protest before Jen continued. “Does she need to learn the movement for it?” Jen asked, which, despite being annoyed, Emira knew was a good question.

“No, we have a stage technician back there to do that. He’ll cue her with the timing too.” The director didn’t look up from her clipboard while she spoke.

Once again, it sounded like Emira was getting the worse part of the job. Doing the lighting was not nearly as impressive as special effects on stage. It would probably be super simple magic too, any illusion witch could do it.

“Alright, thank you.” Jen replied, then turned to Emira. “You should head up to the lighting, I’ll show you how to get there.” She turned back towards the front of the building, walking back the way they came. Emira followed behind sullenly, with her arms crossed.

They went all the way back to the lobby, where Jen stopped at a closed door. She pulled it open, holding it for Emira to pass. There was a winding stairwell ahead.

“It’s just up these stairs, I’ll meet you out front for lunch after rehearsal.” Jen said, waving Emira inside.

Emira entered the door with a sigh. “See you later.” She muttered, before starting her ascent up the stairs. Once the door was shut behind her, all of the light faded from the room. Emira cast a quick light spell to carry with her, illuminating each step in turn.

When she reached the top, she estimated that it had been about three floors of stairs. She didn’t know for sure though, with the way they spiraled. At the top there was another door, which luckily was unlocked when Emira tried to open it.

On the other side was a small room, maybe ten feet across, with a witch sitting inside who didn’t seem much older than Emira. He had a candle lit in the room for light, and was reading from a book that was basically just a stack of paper bound together. His head popped up at the sound of the door opening.

“I’m here to power the lights.” Emira said before he could open his mouth, looking around the room as she did. Three of the walls were solid, but one had an opening. It was door sized and seemed to lead out onto some kind of rigging.

The witch popped out of his seat, shutting his book as he did. “Great, I’ve been expecting you.” He had a cute smile, but even if he’d been closer to her age Emira wouldn’t have been interested. “The name’s Kyle.”

“Mine’s Emira.” Emira tried to put her earlier irritation aside and be polite. It wasn’t his fault she was trapped here. “I think we’ll be working together for the next couple days.”

“I expect so.” Kyle replied, stepping towards the opening in the wall. “Let me show you what we’ll be doing.” He then stepped out onto the rigging. Emira trailed behind, more cautious about going out there. It wasn’t that she was afraid of heights, but falling was not an exciting prospect. When she looked out the opening, she could see the stage and the seats below them. Maybe it had been four flights of stairs instead of three; it certainly looked like it from this height.

That was just another thing to push aside as she stepped out onto the rigging. It only extended about five feet out. Once out there, she could see one large spotlight to the left and the right. Kyle had gone right and lifted his hand to the spotlight.

“These are the lights we’ll be using.” He said, moving his hand away from the device and casting a spell. The spell caused the light to turn, changing the direction it was pointing. “I’ll tell you when to turn them on and off. The focus of the spell is these devices here.”

“Got it.” Emira replied, unable to keep the dryness out of her tone. As she suspected, this magic was almost trivial. A simple light spell would be super easy to cast and even easier to maintain. She looked down at the stage, where the stage crew was moving set pieces around. She couldn’t spot Jen, probably she was still back stage.

Kyle inched past Emira to adjust the other light. “We’ll be doing the rehearsal soon. For now, want to try the spell?”

If she was being honest, Emira would’ve said no, she did not want to try the spell. Unfortunately, now was not the time for honesty and she had already committed to being polite. She lifted her right hand to cast it, quickly drawing two spell circles. When they activated, both spotlights lit up with bright beams.

Kyle whistled, seeming to indicate that he was impressed, and redirected them around the stage. The light moved well and didn’t waver, likely due to some part of the device. “This is perfect.” Kyle said, flashing her a thumbs up.

Great, wonderful, fantastic, at least he was happy. On the stage, the crew members were looking up at the spotlights, squinting against them.

A few minutes later Kyle told her to drop the spell, so she did. They were getting ready to start the rehearsal.

Once it started, Emira didn’t pay much attention to the play. She also didn’t take special care for the lights. She just turned them on or off when told, wondering when all of this would end.

She saw Jen’s fire magic in her peripheral vision, but didn’t pay it any mind.


	10. Day 5 - Edric

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Even though NaNo is over, I’m going to maintain the update schedule for this fic.

By Friday, Edric was almost used to maintaining the mask spell all the time. He was getting better at keeping it activated when he lost focus, which was often. He still didn’t put the mask on until he arrived at the jail though; he still hated it and it would be silly to wear it even a minute longer than he had to.

He was also getting used to meeting Frederick at the locker room, which was where Frederick asked him to go in the mornings. It seemed like Frederick liked to stow some of his belongings in there during the day, though Edric still hadn’t seen him out of uniform. He hadn’t seen his face either, which felt strange.

Today Edric arrived on time, and he walked slowly through the building towards the locker room. He passed a few other coven members on the way, but of course he couldn’t identify who they were. There wasn’t any point in trying to talk to them.

When he reached the locker room, Frederick was already waiting outside it. Edric was starting to be able to identify him on sight, even without hearing his voice, since he had broader shoulders than most of the other members.

The two exchanged a greeting, then went to the dispatcher’s office. He was alone inside when they arrived, shuffling through his papers as usual. Edric wondered how he possibly kept everything organized, since it always looked like such a mess.

“You two are patrolling the park today.” The dispatcher said, after finding the right sheet. “There’s been a string of robberies in the area, mostly from children. They’re worried about potential kidnappings, so extra patrol witches will be in the area.” He handed the paper to Frederick.

“We’ll make sure to catch that thief.” Frederick sounded so sure of it. “Are there any descriptions of the suspect?” He asked after examining the page.

The dispatcher shook his head. “Only vague ones. Male, tall, that’s all we’ve got.”

“It could be me then.” Edrick chuckled, but stopped when he felt the temperature in the room drop. Both the dispatcher and Frederick both had turned to stare at him. He couldn’t see their eyes, but he could feel the chill. “That was a joke.” The comedic timing on that was way too late.

The two witches slowly turned back to each other, and then continued speaking as if it hadn’t happened.

“I have a palisman staff for you, to rent out.” The dispatcher stood and walked over to a closet, opening it and reaching inside. He took out a staff with a palisman bird on top, Edric couldn’t tell what type from this distance. “To get you there faster and for if things get dicey.”

“I hope it doesn’t.” Fredrick said as he accepted the staff. Edric shared the sentiment; he wasn’t itching to fight someone or chase them down. Running just wasn’t for him.

The two exchanged a few more words of small talk, before Fredrick and Edric left to go on their patrol. When they got outside, Fredrick called the palisman staff to action. It spread its tiny wings and hovered in the air. Fredrick climbed on the front, and Edric quickly hopped on behind him.

A minute later and they had taken off the ground, flying towards the park. It was always exhilarating, to fly on a palisman like that. “Be on the lookout today.” Fredrick called back as they flew. “This could get dangerous, so stay with me and be careful.”

It wouldn’t be appropriate to say that he would do just about anything to avoid danger, so Edric just said, “I will.”

Within five minutes they arrived at the park and landed nearby it. The palisman let them down to the ground, with Fredrick bringing it upright in his hand. There were a few kids playing at the park already, despite how early it was in the morning. Edric didn’t see anything suspicious, though he only bothere to look in one direction.

Frederick led them on their patrol, walking the perimeter of the park and moving through the area around it.

For a while, nothing interesting happened. Frederick stopped a couple tall males to ask them questions, but none of them turned out to be the suspect. Or if they were, then they were excellent liars. Edric would know, being a seasoned liar himself.

That changed when Fredrick and Edric went back into the park to look around again. Most of the witches had been there since earlier, but there was someone new. A tall man, one who didn’t have a child with him, was standing inside the park near the fence. He could’ve come to pick up one of the kids, but where he was standing was unusual for that.

Edric noticed him for simply being interesting and outside the norm. He turned to Frederick to point him out, but he had already spotted him. Fredrick signaled for Edric to stay quiet, then he started to approach the out of place witch.

“Excuse me,” Frederick said in a tone far more amiable than he usually used. “May I ask what you are doing at this park?” Though his tone was cordial, the question carried a hint of a threat.

The witch kept a neutral expression, but his hands twitching gave away his nerves. “Just watching my child play, sir.” He kept looking between Edric and Frederick, as if he couldn’t decide where to place his eyes. This witch was almost certainly their suspect.

Frederick looked over towards the group of kids playing, all of whom had been there before the suspect arrived. “Which one is yours?” He asked as he turned back towards the suspect, who was now grimacing.

Instead of responding, the suspect quickly drew a small spell circle, which erupted into a plume of smoke. Frederick lunged forward to grab him, but it was too late. The suspect had popped out of the other side of the smoke and was scurrying towards the park exit. Edric would’ve sighed if he had time to.

“After him.” Fredric said, much calmer sounding than Edric expected him to be, before taking off running after the witch. If there had been time Edric would’ve protested that he hated running, but there wasn’t and he didn’t have a choice. He sprinted after Frederick, trying to keep up.

In the distance, about 100 feet ahead, they could still see the suspect. He was running towards the market, probably to try and lose them between the stands. Too bad for him, since Edric knew the market quite well.

As expected, the suspect turned into the market. When the pair reached the entrance, they could see him disappearing around a left corner.

That was it.

Edric knew that there was only one exit that way, and he knew that because he and Em had once blocked off the exit to make a closed loop instead and trapped unsuspecting shoppers inside. The whole thing was closed except that one exit, so the suspect only had one place to go.

Edric knew a faster way there. If he cut around the side of the market, then over a couple stands, he should be able to beat the suspect there. There wasn’t any time to debate the merits of the plan, only to act. He skidded to a halt and turned to run back out of the market. “I’ll meet you on the other side!” He called to Frederick, who called his name as he ran away.

There was no time to explain. Hopefully Frederick would keep pushing the suspect through, so he didn’t backtrack and go to a different exit.

As he ran around the side of the market, Edric was already out of breath. He barely did any walking before this internship, let alone running. He was really out of shape, but he couldn’t stop. If he was too slow, then the suspect would get away.

Edric tried to control his breathing as he reached the outside stands to climb over. This was how he and Em would get into the market unnoticed, by scaling this particular stand. It had wood slats on the outside, which made it easy to climb. Edric used these to lift himself to the top, where he shuffled quickly across the stand.

He crossed a few more, before leaping down to the path below. A few witches who were there stopped turned to stare at him, but he ignored them. Harder to ignore was the pain in his legs from jumping from that height.

He was exactly where he intended to be, right near the other exit. If he had moved fast enough, the suspect would run through at any moment. If he was too slow, it would be Frederick instead.

Edric knew he would lose in a fight, so he couldn’t just rush in. In order to catch the suspect, he was going to use illusions. If he could stall the suspect for just a minute, Frederick would catch up and finish the arrest.

With that thought in mind, Edric jogged over to the exit. He looked in the direction he expected the suspect to come from, but didn’t see him yet. That was good, since it gave him a moment to cast the spell. Edric quickly drew a spell circle, popping an illusion version of Fredrick into existence.

It appeared just in time, since a moment later the suspect turned the corner. He was still running at full speed, rushing towards the exit. Unluckily for him, Edric was there to stop him.

Edric summoned an illusion rope and had the illusion Frederick raise its hands. They were blocking the exit, so the suspect would turn back.

Unfortunately, Edric didn’t account for desperation. Instead of stopping or turning away, the suspect continued running at full speed towards the exit. He ducked his shoulder as he ran.

Edric didn’t even have a moment to react before the suspect slammed into him, jamming his elbow into his chest. That was enough to send Edric tumbling backwards, knocking the wind out of him. The illusion popped as Edric lost his focus on it, along with rope and the spell that helped him see through the mask. As Edric collapsed to the ground the suspect ran past, so he wasn’t able to see where he went. Each breath came with a wave of pain, though that started to fade after a few seconds.

A moment later, during which Edric could only try to gather himself, Frederick appeared in front of him.

“Are you hurt?” Fredrick asked, sounding concerned. “What happened?” He had leaned over to be closer to Edric’s level.

“I can’t believe he ran into me.” Edric felt like he was balanced on the edge between bursting out crying or laughing maniacally. He settled for laughing, he wasn’t quite sure why.

“Did you hit your head?” Frederick was still focused. He took his own mask off, which he had never done in front of Edric before, and then reached forward to removed Edric’s. He did so gently, and then pushed Edric’s hood off his head. Both masks hit the dirt. He then knelt down next to Edric, looking intently at the back of his head. As this happened Edric’s laughter faded, his mania being replaced with a sudden wave of exhaustion.

“I don’t think so.” Edric was able to respond as Frederick stood back up. He got his first look at his face, a normal looking face. His blue eyes carried concern.

Frederick reached down to him with one hand. “Let’s stand you up then.”

Edric accepted the hand, starting the process of rising to his feet. Midway up though, he again felt pain in his chest. It had faded as he sat, but spiked when tried to stand. He sank back to the ground, one hand over the spot.

Frederick was frowning, a deep unhappy look. He knelt back down, this time in front of Edric, and drew a magic circle in the air. It was a healing spell, and when it activated the pain Edric felt again faded away.

“You’ve got some bruising.” Fredrick commented after a moment, casting a second healing spell to layer it in. “Tell me what happened.”

“I cast an illusion to stop him.” Edric said, finding breathing coming even easier the longer the spell was cast. “Didn’t work though, he smashed right through me.”

“You’re lucky it’s only bruises.” Frederick said in a low tone as he finished the healing spell. “Up now, you should be able to stand.” He again offered a hand, which Edric accepted.

He was right; Edric was able to rise to his feet. He felt a slight twang of pain, but it was no worse than a small bruise would’ve been. There did seem to be merit to learning a healing spell, not that he had doubted it before.

Both of their masks were still lying on the ground.

Frederick’s expression, which was already sour, hardened even more. “I told you to stay with me today, but you chose to run off on your own. You could’ve been seriously hurt.” He spoke crisply and shortly. The concern from earlier had vanished. “I’m disappointed, and I expect better. You must follow my directions from now on, do you understand?”

Edric had come so close to catching the suspect, even if he got bruised he still thought it was worth it. Compared to how he normally engaged in the internship, today had been a big boost. To hear that Frederick was disappointed in him, well, it hurt. He had only known the witch for less than a week and seen his face for the first time today, but still he would rather have his approval.

Besides, if he had stuck with Frederick then they wouldn’t have come even close to catching the suspect. Splitting up and thinking outside the box had worked. If Edric was better at fighting, he could’ve even made the arrest. It felt unfair to be scolded for that.

“I understand.” Edric replied simply, not wanting to make things worse with Frederick. There was no point in arguing with him.

“I hope you do.” Frederick replied, bending over to pick the two masks up off the ground. He handed one back to Edric, then put his on. Edric did the same, casting the spell to make it so he could see. “C’mon, let’s get back to our route.”

Frederick turned to walk back through the market, expecting Edric to follow.

He did.


	11. Day 5 - Edric

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was originally going to be part of the last chapter, but it was all too long together so it had to be split up.

Edric stood in the bathroom at home, stripping off his Emperor’s Coven uniform. Normally he would change in his room, but he wanted to see just how bad his chest looked. The impact earlier had been hard, and as the day went on a dull pain had returned. The bruises twinged mildly each time the fabric of his shirt brushed them.

He didn’t tell Frederick of course, that would just be a chance for him to say that he told him so. To tell him to never have an independent thought again and don’t forget to learn some more types of magic.

No, Edric just kept it to himself.

He had already changed his pants, leaving just the shirt. As he reached to pull it off, he could already feel his muscles complaining. One the shirt was off, he could see why. Right in the center of his chest was a chain of purple splotches, all aligned with where the suspect’s elbow and shoulder had hit him. He poked them gently to make sure and, yes, they indeed did hurt to touch.

Edric quickly put on his replacement shirt, not wanting to look at them any longer. Hopefully they would heal over the weekend, before he was expected to report back to the coven.

Honestly though, Edric wasn’t sure if he would go back. The whole week had just been one awful experience after another; he was sick of it. Getting scolded by Frederick today was the last straw.

He would take the failed grade in his class, three more weeks of this just wasn’t worth it. It was time to call it quits.

Edric knew his parents wouldn’t understand, but he still had to tell them. If he waited until Monday morning to try and insist that he wasn’t going, there was no way that would work. If he just skipped it, well they would find out anyway and then bury him with his mask.

The only viable route was to tell them now; at least they would have the weekend to cool off after.

Maybe he should write a will first.

No, he stifled that depressing thought, he would be fine. He was quitting the internship and that was final.

Edric nodded at himself in the mirror, running a hand through his hair to get it in just the right arrangement. He didn’t feel ready, but there wasn’t much more time to prepare.

He left the bathroom and went downstairs, expecting his parents to be in his father’s study. At least, that was where they were when Edric got home. They’d been arguing about something, as usual.

When he neared the study, he could hear his mother’s voice inside. She didn’t sound like she was in a great mood, which already put Edric off to a bad start. He persisted anyway, knocking firmly on the study door. His mother stopped talking at the sound of the knock.

“Come in.” His father’s voice said after a moment. Edric opened the door and passed through it, closing it behind him. This could get loud. “Good evening Edric.” His father greeted him from behind his desk, though his mother had her arms crossed. She was likely annoyed that they’d been interrupted. “What brings you to see us?” He always spoke so formally, Edric couldn’t remember ever hearing a word out of place.

Edric knew his mind was wandering as a defense mechanism, delaying the next step. He tried to focus, bringing the conversation directly to the topic of choice.

“I’m quitting the internship.” Well, that was easier to say than he thought it would be.

From the armchair on the side of the room, his mother’s expression soured even further. His father was harder to read. “No,” He said calmly, but with a firmness to the tone that gave a little away. “You are not.”

“I am.” Edric stood his ground, moving to cross his arms over his chest. The movement started to apply pressure to his bruises, so he wasn’t able to complete it. He flinched at the pain, dropping his arms back to his sides. Neither parent reacted to it. “I hate it. I’ve had to walk for hours on end, train in magic I will never use, and today I was injured by a criminal.” He said criminal instead of suspect, since it made it sound worse.

His mother looked over at his father. “Maybe we should’ve pushed harder to place him with Nick.” She said, not even responding to Edric’s complaints.

His father shook his head. “They insisted on choosing his shadow, I doubt it would’ve made a difference.”

What were they talking about? “Did you not hear me?” The volume of Edric’s voice was rising. “I said I quit.” He spoke firmly.

“And I said you are not.” Now his father’s voice was ice cold, cutting to the bone. “Do you have any idea how many strings we had to pull to get you that internship?”

That question, even more so than his voice a moment before, chilled Edric. “What do you mean?” He asked, his voice having lost the drive from before. He felt like he had shrunk, in the last few seconds.

“What your father means,” his mother took over, rising from her seat to walk his way. “Is that we had to call in a few favors to secure your spot.” That was the final blow, to Edric’s spirit and his self-confidence. So, he hadn’t earned his internship at the Emperor’s Coven. No, his parents had manipulated the results to get him in.

Edric felt sick, like he might hurl. “What strings?” He wasn’t sure he wanted to know, but he asked anyway.

His mother had a small curved smile, ominous in its presence. “If you must know, the Illusion Coven wanted both of you. We came to an agreement; they could pick which one to keep and the other would go to the Emperor.” Edric was right, he hadn’t wanted to know. The urge to vomit was stronger, his stomach churning. “You will not quit; you will report on Monday and every day for the next three weeks. Am I clear?” His mother would not accept no for an answer, and Edric was no longer prepared to give her one.

“Crystal.” Edric replied quietly, but it was good enough for her.

“Fantastic.” She said, waving him out of the room. “Leave us now, we were in the middle of something.”

Edric glanced back at his father, who at least looked slightly concerned about the conversation. However, he didn’t speak or intervene, so Edric knew it was really time to go.

He turned to leave, opening the study door. As he walked through and shut it behind him, he could hear his parents speaking quietly.

“Was that really necessary? I thought we weren’t going to tell them.”

“Something had to be done.”

Edric didn’t want to listen, didn’t want to hear that. He shut the door behind him roughly, then lurched his way back upstairs.

His mind was turning, over and over. He had been the second choice, the undesired twin. He didn’t blame Em of course, it wasn’t her fault that this had happened. It was completely his parents’ fault, for putting them in the situation to begin with. How could they do that? He didn’t know.

Still though, even though he hated the internship he thought he had earned his place. The fact that he hadn’t stung, badly.

He made it up the stairs slowly, then walked back towards his room. Actually no, he wanted to go somewhere else.

On his way past Em’s room, he drew an illusion circle in the air. It triggered a little illusion spell in her room, to get her attention and invite her to the safest space in the house. He continued past, trusting that she would receive the message.

His destination was the attic, which could be reached via a ladder at the end of the hallway. It pulled down from the ceiling, though Edric usually just made an illusion ladder instead. The real one was covered in dust and spiders, not worth the trouble of taking down.

The attic was also full of dust and spiders, but it didn’t have his parents anywhere near it and they were far worse. Edric poked his head up through the entrance and glanced around, trying to see if Emira had left a magic trap near the entrance. He didn’t see any this time, so he climbed up into the cramped room.

It was a small space, not even tall enough for him to stand in, but it was well suited for their needs. Edric and Emira could see out the small window into the yard, there were plenty of boxes to sit on, and their parents didn’t have any listening spells there. They used to fit better when they were younger. The only downside was the spiders, but Emira didn’t mind squashing them, so again, as Edric repeatedly tried to tell himself, it was fine.

Edric shuffled across the space and sat down on one of the boxes, carefully dusting it off first. He hadn’t been up here in a while, with how busy he’d been with pranks and now the internship.

A few minutes later, Em appeared through the entrance in the floor. “You called?” She said as she climbed up and fully into the room.

“I just tried to quit the internship.” Edric moved subconsciously to cross his arms, but successfully stopped himself this time from pressing on his bruises.

“I assume it didn’t go well.” Em replied dryly, coming to sit near him on a different box.

“Badly.” Edric said bluntly. “It went very badly.”

Em reached over to pat him on the shoulder. “There there.”

“It’s been so awful.” Edric jumped into complaining, ignoring the patronizing way Emira just spoke to him. “I can’t believe how much walking and running I’ve had to do, it’s ridiculous.” Edric frowned at the memory of chasing the suspect today. “And the spells, ugh the spells. They’re trying to teach me plant magic. Plant magic of all things.” He said incredulously, waving his hands in the air.

“You can’t do plant magic at all.” Em replied with a nod, already knowing he was incapable of it.

“Exactly!” Edric hit a fist against his leg. “And I got in trouble today for thinking outside the rigid box they all work in. It’s absurd.” He sighed.

“If it makes you feel better, mine is awful too.” Em was also frowning. “I’m barely allowed to do anything. For the last two days I’ve been powering a simple light spell, that’s it, just a light spell.”

“Lucky.” Edric muttered, before bringing his voice up. “If only we could switch internships, that would be great.”

“I wish we could.” Em agreed with the idea. “But there’s no way.”

“Yeah…” Edric’s voice faded midway through the word.

The two sat in silence for a moment, the misfortune of their internships hanging between them.

“Three more weeks.” Em said quietly, as if just speaking to herself.

Edric repeated it. “Three more weeks.”

They were going to have to survive those weeks. He needed to find a way to bear it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There aren’t arcs, but if there were this would be the end of arc 1.


	12. Day 8 - Amity

After going to watch the abomination wrestling match and talking with Luz about visiting all the covens, Amity knew which one she wanted to do next. It was one she had always wanted to visit, and had missed an opportunity to tour when her ankle was broken.

The Emperor’s Coven, otherwise known as her goal since childhood. She had given up on getting a tour of any of their facilities, since normally they wouldn’t let non members inside. She’d missed her only chance, until now.

Now she had an in, since Edric was interning there. Yes, he was based out of the jail instead of the Emperor’s Castle, but it was still one of their facilities. Amity had always wanted to see inside, to see what happened there. If she was going to explore other covens, she might as well take some time to learn more about the Emperor’s Coven too, she told herself. For research.

When she talked to Luz about visiting, they decided that Luz shouldn’t go. After what happened with Lilith and Eda, the jail was the last place she should try to take a tour of. It was just too risky. Luz would look around for other coven activities they could do, so it was fine if Amity went alone to this one.

That was the easier conversation, compared to the one Amity faced this morning. She was sitting in the kitchen, eating breakfast. She made sure to get up earlier than usual, so she could snag Ed before he left for the day. He had spent the whole weekend stewing in a dense cloud of irritation, which Em said was because of the internship, so Amity had put off talking to him until there was no time left.

That was what led to her waiting for him to pass by the kitchen. Em had already come and gone, snagging a piece of toast and expressing how unexcited she was for the second week of her internship.

When Ed finally appeared, about ten minutes later than Amity expected him, he was already dressed in his coven uniform. He carried the mask, dangling it from his fingers carelessly. Amity had already finished eating.

“You’re up early.” Ed commented when he saw her. He went over to the counter to take the already prepared toast, jamming it in his mouth.

“You’re the one who’s late.” Amity quipped back, with one eyebrow raised.

Ed rolled his eyes, taking a bite out of his toast. “Yeah yeah I know.” He took an apple from the bowl on the counter then sat down at the table. “How much do I have to pay you to take my place today?” He asked in a dead serious tone.

The corner of Amity’s mouth lifted in a small smile. “I would do it for free.” She meant that.

“If only you didn’t have to go to school.” Ed chuckled, though it sounded insincere. He finished his toast, moving on to the apple.

This was a good chance to ask that question, as the topic was similar. “Speaking of your internship,” Amity tried to segue smoothly. “Do you think I could come by for a tour this afternoon?”

“Hmm.” Ed mulled it over, placing his elbow on the table. “I’m fine with that, but I’ll have to ask Frederick if it’s okay. He’ll probably say no.” He said with a grimace. “Just come at 4:00, I’ll meet you out front.”

Even with the uncertainty of approval, that was a win. “Thanks Ed!” Amity grinned, rising from her chair. “I’ll be right on time.” She picked up her plate to wash it.

“A few minutes late is fine too.” He shrugged, not seeming to care. “I’ll come out to get you.”

Amity finished washing her plate, then placed it in the rack to dry. “See you then.” She moved to leave the kitchen, having succeeded in her goal. Ed waved halfheartedly as she left, continuing to eat his apple.

Amity went upstairs to get ready for school, excited for the day to come.

* * *

After school, Amity wandered around town until it was time to meet Ed at the jail. She was both excited and nervous to finally see inside the Emperor’s Coven facilities. There was still a chance that Ed wouldn’t be able to take her inside, but based on how he talked about it that morning it would probably happen regardless. He didn’t have much respect for the rules.

Amity kept checking the clock on her scroll, waiting for the time to come. When there were about ten minutes left, she walked towards the jail. She knew exactly where it was and how to get there. Even though Ed said it was fine to be late, by her standards it was absolutely not fine.

When Amity was close enough to see the building, she could also see Edric waiting on the street corner. He was slouching, with his mask on the ground and hood down. When he saw Amity approaching, he waved her over.

“Hey.” Ed greeted her as she stopped in front of him. “So, I asked Frederick. And he said no.”

That was bad news. “Oh.” Amity’s spirit fell, her excitement quickly draining.

Ed held up a hand, signaling for her to wait. “Don’t worry though, I’m taking you in anyway.” This turned Amity’s mood back around, though she wasn’t sure if that was a good idea.

“If they already said I can’t come in, won’t they kick me out?” She asked, doubting that they would even let her in.

Ed’s smirk grew. “As I said, don’t worry. I have a plan.” He spun a finger in the air to create a magic circle, triggering an illusion spell.

When it activated, it looked like nothing happened at first. “Was that supposed to do something?” Amity raised one eyebrow.

“Look down.” Ed smirked as he layered in another illusion spell. Confused, Amity did as he said. Her confusion only grew when she realized that she couldn’t see her hands, or her body for that matter. Instead, only the ground was visible below her.

“This is impressive.” Amity had to admit as she held her arm up to her face to see if it was fully invisible. All she could see was a slight waver of the light as it passed through, which wasn’t bad at all for an invisibility spell. A moment later Ed layered in a third spell, and the wavering vanished.

“Why thank you.” Ed took a fake bow, flourishing with one hand. “I accept tips.” When Amity didn’t laugh, he continued a moment later. “Make sure to stay close to me, since I can’t see you either, and try to stay quiet.”

Amity nodded, then upon realizing he couldn’t see her said, “Will do.”

“Let’s head in then.” Ed picked his mask up off the ground, dusting it off before putting it over his face and lifting his hood. He walked towards the entrance to the jail and Amity followed behind. A couple Emperor’s Coven members were leaving, but they passed by Ed without a word. Amity made sure to stay out of their paths.

When they reached the entrance, Ed held the door open long enough to let Amity pass without suspicion. She looked around the lobby once she was inside. There were a few desks with coven members behind them, likely for processing incoming arrests and transfers. They looked cool and interesting; she wanted to pause and watch them.

Ed hadn’t stopped, clearly underestimating Amity’s desire to see everything the coven had to offer. He walked over to a side door, pulling it open. Amity had to stop looking around the room to follow him, barely making the door before it swung shut behind him. It was hard to know if she was going to make it without drawing suspicion, since she couldn’t see her own body.

The hallway ahead was empty. “Don’t leave me behind.” Amity hissed into Ed’s ear, quietly as not to be heard by others.

“Make sure to keep up.” He replied, matching her volume. They walked past a set of closed doors, not stopping at any of them. “These are offices, I don’t know who works here and I don’t care.”

Amity was looking for more detail than that from her tour guide, but another coven member was passing by so she couldn’t ask. She stayed directly behind Ed to avoid being walked into by accident.

After the doors, they reached a hallway intersection. Ed turned right, so Amity followed. This hallway was short, leading to a door. “This is the dispatcher’s office. He gives me all the worst jobs.”

“Ooh.” So the coven members were deployed from here, that was so cool. Ed was being sassier than usual, likely since he clearly didn’t like being placed here. Amity wasn’t bothered by it. “Can we go inside?”

Ed shook his head. “It would be suspicious, so no.” That was disappointing, but there was no time to dwell on it since Ed started walking back towards the intersection. Amity gave the dispatcher door one last lingering look, before following.

They turned right again at the hallway intersection, again walking down a hallway. There were two doors at the end of this one. Ed opened the one on the right, holding it so Amity could enter with him. The room on the other side had a small kitchen area and a couch, perhaps a break room or something like that.

Luckily there were no coven members inside. “This is my favorite room, the staff lounge.” Ed gestured around the room. “Though I spend almost no time here.”

Amity wandered over to one of the couches; Emperor’s Coven members took breaks here. She had always dreamed of seeing places like this, it felt unreal to be standing in it. She sat down, in the same spot a coven member had sat, and couldn’t help but grin.

Ed didn’t seem as enthused. “Let’s keep moving.” He said, walking back to the door. Reluctantly, Amity stood to follow him.

He held the door open so she could leave, then crossed over to the other door. “This is the training area.” He said before opening it. “Where Frederick tortures me.” Amity chuckled at that as he held the door open and the pair went inside.

Her eyes widened when she saw the room on the other side. It was huge, way larger than she had expected. A few coven members were there, training with various weapons and types of magic. One of the coven members had looked over when they entered, and he called out to Ed.

“Edric, did you find what you were looking for?” The coven member yelled from across the room. He was wearing a mask like all the others, so Amity couldn’t see his face.

“That’s Frederick.” Ed muttered to Amity, then raised his voice to reply. “I found it, thanks!” He then muttered again, just as quietly as before. “Told him I lost something so he wouldn’t ask too many questions.”

Amity would’ve loved a chance to ask Frederick some questions of her own, but unfortunately she wouldn’t be able to. She also wanted to look more around this room, but again Ed was hurrying her along.

They left the training room and walked back to the intersection, where they turned down the last hallway. There were once again two doors at the end of it.

“These are the locker rooms. Nothing really to see here.” Ed gestured at each door. “And that’s everything.”

“I can’t believe you get to come here every day.” Even though she didn’t get to see everything she wanted, it was still amazing for Amity to be there.

“You get used to it.” Ed quipped with a roll of his eyes, which was barely visible behind the mask, before turning around to walk back towards the intersection. “Let’s get out of here.”

Amity trailed behind him, not eager to leave so soon. She didn’t have a choice though, so she followed Ed out of the Emperor’s Coven wing. They passed through the lobby again, and then exited the building.

Once they made it back to the corner where they started, Ed dropped the invisibility spell. Amity knew because she could once again see her own hands.

“Thanks again for the tour.” Amity said, glad she was able to do it despite the hiccups.

“No problem.” Ed had taken his mask back off and had a sort of half smile. “Now run along sprout, I’ll be home later.”

“See you later.” Amity waved goodbye before they parted ways. She headed towards home and Ed walked off in the opposite direction.

While she walked, she thought about the tour. Despite the limitations, she had loved seeing all of the different places within the coven. She still wanted to join the Emperor’s Coven someday, still hoped that could happen.

It wasn’t certain of course, which was why she was exploring other covens in the first place.

Despite liking the Emperor’s Coven so much, Amity knew she should keep an open mind about the rest.

She wondered if Luz found more information on which coven they should visit next. Amity was interested in seeing where they would go and what she would learn on this journey.


	13. Day 9 - Emira

Another day, another trip to the Illusion Coven. Emira had already gone with Jen to a job that morning, where they again aided the oracle coven. This time it was with setting up a long term solution for providing fog during fortune readings. After eating lunch, they had a different job on the schedule.

When they got back to the coven, Emira met with Jen in her office. They talked briefly about the job for the afternoon. It was going to be different than usual.

Jen said she had received a job request, which she had to go talk to the coven leader about before they could leave. She instructed Emira to wait for her in the lobby and that she’d be there soon.

This led to Emira lurking in the lobby, with only the secretary for company. After a few minutes of silent waiting, she went over to speak with him; she had a question he could probably answer.

“Hey, can I ask you something?” Emira led with that, not wanting to interrupt if he was busy. He’d been writing something in a notebook.

The secretary looked up with his usual professional smile, still holding his pen as he replied. “Of course, what can I help you with?”

“How often do coven witches get job requests?” Since Jen got one today, the topic was a point of curiosity for Emira.

“An excellent question.” The secretary put down his pen, then brought his hands together. “Only the top performing coven members get job requests, including Jennifer.” The coven leader did say that Jen was one of their best witches, though Emira hadn’t seen much evidence of that yet. Of course, she hadn’t been watching carefully. “She receives a few requests a month from her fans.”

“She has fans?” Emira had trouble believing that witches who did contract work could build a fan base. It didn’t seem like a consistent way to get attention.

“Oh yes, quite a few of them.” The secretary nodded a few times, insistently. “She gets requests for performance magic; the other covens love her.”

That was interesting. The jobs Emira had gone on with Jen so far were all performance jobs, but they hadn’t been requests. It seemed like the coven assigned her jobs that played to her strengths, or at least put her in roles that she was known for.

Before Emira had a chance to respond, the employee door opened and Jen emerged. She was carrying her palisman staff.

“Ready to go?” Jen asked as she neared Emira and the secretary.

“Yup.” Emira stepped back from the desk. “Thanks for answering.” She said to the secretary. He waved in return.

Jen continued past them and Emira turned to follow. The went outside and mounted the palisman staff, setting off to fly to the job.

“We’re headed to an Abomination Coven event.” Jen started to brief her on the job as they took off. Emira had a sinking feeling in her gut when she heard it was the Abomination Coven. “It’s a request for fireworks.” Jen turned her head to look back at Emira. “I was supposed to go alone, but how can you shadow me without actually shadowing me?” Jen laughed at her own statement, shaking her head. “No way. Besides, I think you’ll like the spell I’ve prepared.”

So Emira almost got out of having to attend today. She would’ve greatly enjoyed not having to go, especially with the chance that her mother would be there, but it wasn’t going to benefit her to complain. If it hadn’t been the Abomination Coven, Emira would’ve appreciated Jen bringing her.

Bonesborough passed by below them as they flew overhead. So far they didn’t show any sign of descending.

“Where is it?” Emira asked, trying not to give any of her unease away.

“It’s outdoors, at a field on the other side of town.” Jen pointed off to right, designating something in the distance. Made sense that fireworks would be outside. “We’ll be there in a few minutes.”

“Okay.” Emira looked to see if she could spot their destination, but it wasn’t visible yet.

That changed after a few minutes, as they left the edge of Bonesborough. They passed over a small forest. Emira could see a large number of what looked to be tables, all set up in a large field. There were witches moving around between them and sitting at them. On one side of the field, a large stage like structure was set up.

On the stage, easily identifiable to Emira even from this distance, was the light green hair belonging to Odalia Blight. Her mother, as she suspected, was leading this event. What were the odds that Emira could avoid being spotted by her? Slim to none, she suspected.

Jen brought the staff down on the edge of the field, where they hopped off onto the ground. Emira’s legs were getting better at the transition, since she was flying more often.

Up on stage, Emira’s mother was testing a magic microphone. There was a flurry of activity around the field, with some seats at the tables already filled. More witches were arriving, filing into their seats.

A witch on the ground level, one who seemed to be in a hurry, approached the pair. “Jennifer, thank you so much for accepting our request.” She was carrying a clipboard, following the trend in previous covens.

“I am honored to fulfill your request.” Jen said diplomatically.

“I see you brought Ms. Blight with you as well. We’ll set up an extra chair for her.” She waved another witch over and repeated the last part as a command.

“Wonderful.” Jen smiled sincerely. Emira didn’t agree that it was wonderful.

“The fireworks are after the last speech; I’ll signal when it’s time.” The witch pointed to one of the nearby tables. A few witches were already seated there. “Your seats are at that table. The ceremony will be starting soon.”

She scurried away without waiting for a response, going to help a witch on the other side of the field.

Jen and Emira walked over to the assigned table, where a different witch was quickly adding another chair. That was likely to accommodate Emira’s late attendance. The two sat down, settling in to wait for the event to start.

Jen took a piece of paper out of her pocket, and had laid flat on the table while they waited. Emira glanced over at it, curious, but couldn’t see it well while maintaining discretion. It looked like some kind of spell schematics. Jen was adding something with a pen, muttering to herself as she did, before scratching another part out.

Many of the witches at the table were staring at Emira, likely recognizing her as the coven head’s daughter. She ignored them; she was here as part of the Illusion Coven today, not Odalia’s daughter.

They had to wait a while, but the event soon started. Her mother took the stage to introduce the event. It turned out this was to commemorate the abomination wrestling season, which had just ended that week. Amity had mentioned going to see final match.

After her mother, a few others came up to speak. Emira was quite bored as they droned on about the good sportsmanship shown, the new strategies used, and the success of the new champion.

Jen didn’t look bored; she was still engrossed in her paper.

After a long hour of speeches and cheers, it was finally time for Jen to go on. Emira’s mother was speaking again, wrapping up the event. Up near the stage, the witch who assigned them the table flashed a thumbs up. Jen rose from her seat, walking out to an open portion of the field without a word.

Emira almost didn’t watch. She hadn’t watched yet, not in the whole week since they met. Things were different today though. Jen brought her along when she didn’t have to, made an exception for her, just so she could see this magic. She wasn’t so ungrateful not to recognize that.

Today, Emira watched.

Jen stopped out in a large empty spot of the field, waiting for exactly the right moment to begin. When Emira’s mother finished her speech, that was her cue.

She started casting spells, drawing large spell circles quickly. So quickly Emira couldn’t keep track of the spells. She could only watch the effects as balls of fire shot into the sky.

When they reached above the crowd’s heads, Jen added another spell, or set of spells Emira couldn’t tell, that caused them to explode in a burst of color.

It was beautiful, amazing. Emira’s jaw dropped at the display; she had never seen anything like it before. It wasn’t just the visuals that impressed her, but the spell work too. Each step of the fireworks had different spells weaved in, ones that flowed fluidly to the next set without so much as a waver.

Each step also had far more layers than Emira could maintain at a time. Jen seemed to cast more than one of them with each spell circle; Emira wasn’t sure how she did that. The technique was crazy, not even her illusion teacher had done that.

Emira watched the display with wide eyes, mind racing.

On the other side of the field, having come down from the stage to enjoy the show, her mother was watching as well. But she wasn’t watching the fireworks, no, she was watching her eldest daughter.

Emira didn’t notice, as she was engrossed in the magic show.

As the last fireworks exploded in the sky, Emira thought she had underestimated Jen. After the coven leader had been so disappointing, she had dismissed Jen as being the same. How wrong she had been, she’d been missing out.

She wondered if she could cast a simplified version of the spell. There were a few layers in the explosion part that Emira recognized. The base spell would be the toughest individual part, but then layering it all with the right timing would be even harder.

Now she knew why Jen had that piece of paper.

After the last spell fizzled out, the watching crowd burst out cheering. Emira joined them in clapping loudly. Jen took a bow, and then walked back towards the table as the applause dwindled.

“What do you think?” Jen asked, a small smile on her face.

Emira felt like she had to pick her jaw up off the table to respond. “Amazing.”

Jen shook her head as she sat back down at the table, but she did look pleased. “All in a day’s work.” She said, putting her hands together on the table.

Emira disagreed, but didn’t pursue the topic.

Soon the pair flew away from the event, heading back towards the coven.

While they flew, Emira ran through the different layers of the spell in her mind, trying to pinpoint each one and how they fit together.

She just had to try the spell.


	14. Day 10 - Edric

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m currently working on chapter 30 of this fic. Since NaNo ended I’ve been feeling burnt out and have slowed down a lot. It’s still in progress though, and I expect to finish it by the end of this month.

When the dispatcher told Edric and Frederick that they would be assigned to the training hall for the day, Edric wasn’t sure how he felt about that.

On one hand, patrolling was the worst. On the other, trying to train new spells was almost as bad. He hadn’t bothered to work on the plant or healing spells, so he was sure to show zero improvement. It was certain to be another bad day.

Regardless, he had to go with Frederick to the training hall.

As usual, there were a few other coven members already there training. Unlike other days though, Frederick actually went to talk to one of them when they arrived.

“Hey, Nick!” He called across the hall to a witch who was practicing fire spells. The witch was in full coven uniform, so Edric couldn’t see their face. When they looked over, Frederick waved broadly. The witch put out his fire spell and jogged towards them, seeming to recognize Frederick.

“Frederick!” He said amiably. “How’ve you been?” When he reached them, the two grasped hands in an odd sort of handshake. Edric lurked behind, not wanting to get involved in this conversation. If they talked for a while, then his suffering would be pushed back.

“I’ve missed our patrols together. Other than that pretty good, been showing our intern the ropes.” Frederick released the handshake and then tugged Edward forward by his sleeve. “Edric, this is Nick. If I remember correctly, you met him on your first day here.”

Edric couldn’t recall meeting someone by that name. The only one coming to him was Mike, the coven member he’d patrolled with. “Hello.” He said politely; it wasn’t worth mentioning that he didn’t remember him.

“Nick Ralph, at your service.” Oh, so his last name was Ralph. Frederick was right; Edric had met him on the first day. Edric only saw him for a minute and he hadn’t made much of an impression. “How are you liking the internship so far?”

Edric put on his best fake smile beneath his mask. “It’s awful.” He said in a saccharine sweet tone.

For a moment, neither of the men reacted. Then Nick burst out laughing, bending over slightly from the exertion.

“He’s a gem.” Nick said after his laughter faded, as he lifted his mask to wipe his eyes.

“We’re working on discipline.” Frederick seemed far less pleased. “And we have training to do.”

Nick nodded, putting his mask back in place. “I have to get going to patrol anyway. See you around.” He saluted, which Frederick returned, then walked towards the exit.

That meant conversation time was over, and suffering time was about to start. Frederick started moving towards their usual training corner, gesturing for Edric to follow him. “Have you been working on your spells?” He asked while they walked.

“Before we talk about that,” Edric wasn’t ashamed to stall for more time. Even if he had to ask personal questions. “How do you know Nick? You seem close.”

Luckily, Frederick didn’t catch on to the stalling tactic. “We went to Hexside together.” He replied as they reached their corner. “He was on the abomination track and I was on healing.”

That was news to Edric. “You were on the healing track?” That was surprising, given his skill in plant and illusion magic.

“I can do a lot more than heal bruises.” Frederick replied, referencing the events of last week. “Speaking of, how is your chest feeling?” He sounded concerned.

The bruises had faded to a yellowish color over the weekend and didn’t hurt as much to the touch. “It’s healing.” Edric replied, not wanting to go into detail.

“Good.” Frederick nodded. “We’re going to work on spells and some basic weaponry today, let’s start with the plant spell.”

Edric sighed, then lifted his hand to cast it. He drew the circle like he should, but then just like last week there was almost no effect. A single root wiggled up half an inch out of the ground. That was it. Without being able to see Frederick’s face, Edric wasn’t sure how he would react.

“Try putting your other hand on the ground.” Frederick seemed to have far more patience than Edric, as he had already proven many times. “To better connect with the plants.” He maintained a calm tone, which honestly Edric was not used to hearing in response to failure.

It was worth a shot. Edric knelt down on one knee and pressed his left hand against the ground. He used his right to cast the spell. It did lead to a stronger effect, but only slightly.

Now the root was an inch out of the ground, instead of just half an inch.

“We’ll keep working on it.” Frederick said, still sounding confident. He crouched down to cut a nick into the small root. “Let’s try the healing spell now.”

It would feel overdramatic to sigh again, so Edric just rose back to his feet and cast the spell. Similar to the plant spell, it had minimal effect. The cut was only partially healed.

“You’re making progress.” Frederick was being way too nice when he said that. “I thought of another useful spell for you, one that’s great when working with a partner.”

Oh no, not another type of magic. Edric prayed that it was an illusion spell.

His hopes were shattered when Fredrick pulled a collapsible flute out of his pocket. “It’s an acceleration spell, super useful.” He lifted his mask to sit on his head, then started to play the flute. A wave of magic came out with the music, which was a fairly simple tune. It had the immediate effect of making Edric feel lighter on his feet.

“Please no.” Edric said bluntly. If it was possible, his bard magic was even worse than the other ones. He had tried a recorder once, nearly killed Em with the screeching sound.

Frederick stopped playing, almost pouting as he put the flute away. “Fine, but only because the other two still need work.” He pulled his mask back down over his face. “What else was there today… oh yes.” He hit one clenched hand into his palm as he remembered. “Wait right here.”

“Ok.”

Frederick walked back across the training hall, towards the rack of weapons. He stopped at it and examined it closely, likely looking for the ones he wanted to use. He picked up two wood swords and started walking back with them.

It was sword training time. Edric knew this was coming at some point, but he hoped it would be later. Or never, never was ideal.

When Frederick was close, he tossed one of the swords to Edric. The teen barely caught it, almost fumbling it to the ground.

“You need to be able to defend yourself, so it’s time to learn the basics.” Frederick said, placing his own wood sword on the ground. “Show me how you should hold it.”

Edric turned the sword so he could hold the hilt in his right hand. He spread his feet a little farther apart and brandished the weapon, holding that pose.

Frederick walked over and started correcting his posture, first by fixing his hand on the weapon. Then his knees, the width between his feet, and how he positioned his center of balance.

“The Emperor’s Coven primarily uses the sword defensively.” Frederick explained while Edric continued to hold the pose. His arm was starting to hurt from holding up the heavy wood weapon. “Can you cast with your left hand?”

“Yes.” Edric replied. He could do it, but the spells weren’t as strong as the ones from his right.

“Go ahead then, cast some illusions without dropping your stance.” Frederick proposed the challenge, picking his own sword up off the ground.

It turned out harder than Edric expected, especially with his right arm starting to shake. He lifted his left hand to draw a spell circle, and was able to create an illusion stand to rest the wood sword against.

“Not exactly what I had in mind.” Frederick said, though he sounded at least a little amused. “Go ahead and take a five minute break, then we’ll work on deflecting.”

Edric let the illusion drop, causing his wood sword to clatter to the floor. He stretched his arm, rubbing at the muscles to get blood flowing properly through it again.

“You’ll get used to it.” Frederick was watching him do the exercise. “And get stronger.”

Edric doubted that, especially since he would not be continuing a career in this line of work. “That’s unlikely.” He sat down on the ground, might as well take advantage of the break. Once he was seated he continued to stretch his arm.

While Edric rested, Frederick lifted his wood sword. He gave it a few practice swings, then switched to a two handed grip.

Fredrick swung a few more times, going through a few routines, then called to Edric. “Let’s get back to work.” He gestured for Edric to stand up, which the teen did slowly.

Edric picked his sword up and resumed the stance he was in before. Frederick gave a couple instructions on fixing it, but not nearly as many as before.

“See, you’re already improving.” Frederick complimented his clearly sloppy form. “Now we’ll work on one handed blocking.” He lifted his wood sword, pointing it in Edric’s direction. “When I swing, lift your sword to block.”

Frederick took a couple steps towards Edric, swinging his sword in a slow diagonal motion. Edric quickly lifted his to meet the strike, and the two clashed together. The impact hurt against Edric’s hand as the hilt jostled in his grasp. Frederick pulled back, and it took all of Edric’s concentration to not drop the sword right back onto the ground.

“Keep your elbows up when you move.” Frederick offered a correction, as usual. “Let me show you why. I’m going to come again, this time hold the position after you block.”

Edric nodded, already exhausted. When Fredericks sword came again, he lifted his own to block it. He was slightly too late this time, and the two collided much closer to his body. As instructed, he held the pose.

“Right now your elbows are down, this is how blocking like that feels.” Frederick leaned forward, applying pressure on Edric’s block. It was heavy, and difficult to maintain the block. He almost sighed in relief when Frederick pulled back.

“Keep your sword up.” Frederick reminded him, snapping Edric back to focus. He walked over and lifted Edric’s right elbow, bringing his arm to a different angle. He then went back to put his sword where it was before. “This is how it should be, with your elbow in the right spot.” Frederick again applied pressure to the block, but it wasn’t nearly as heavy this time. It still took a lot of effort to hold and Edric was still weak, but it didn’t feel out of control.

“Remember how that feels.” Frederick said as he backed away. “Go ahead and return to your starting form.”

Edric did so, his arm muscles once again complaining.

The pair continued working on this technique until lunch, and then for a while after as well. When Edric complained while they ate, Frederick explained that he was worried Edric would be injured even worse than on Friday without proper defensive training.

The bruising on Edric’s chest made it hard to argue against that.

Edric did okay until the strikes started to speed up. He could either have the correct form, or be fast enough. To do both was just beyond him, especially after a long day of training.

“We’ll keep working on it some other time.” Frederick said after knocking the wood sword from Edric’s hands during a failed block. “Go get a drink, then work on your plant magic.” Edric was relieved; even going back to the plant magic was better than this.

That didn’t stop him from taking his time getting that drink, of course. He had to sit on the couch in the lounge for a while to drink it properly.

By the time he made it back to the training hall, Frederick had put both wood swords back on the rack. He was working on some kind of bard spell, or maybe he was just playing his flute it was hard for Edric to tell.

Edric went far enough away from him that the flute playing could be ignored and set about working on his magic.

He didn’t plan to work on the plant spell, no, he had something better in mind.

Illusion magic revenge for sword fighting.


	15. Day 10 - Amity

When Amity met with Luz the day before, she told her all about the tour she went on of the jail. Luz was sad she didn’t get to go, but she had used their time apart wisely.

Luz had spent the time talking to some of her other friends from Hexside, a couple of whom were upperclassmen like Ed and Em. One of them, Viney, was in the beast keeping and the healing tracks. Right now, she was interning with the Beast Keeping Coven, but her beasts still lived at the school. She came by every morning and afternoon to take care of them.

Luz explained that she had thought of Viney immediately, but had a tough time tracking her down. She had to ask a teacher about her placement, then had gone to the coven only to find out Viney went back to the school, before finally locating her to talk. Luz asked her if she would meet with them to discuss the coven, and Viney said yes.

She agreed to meet Wednesday afternoon, which was today.

Amity had prepared a small list of questions to ask, pretty generic things about how the coven ran and what kinds of beasts were commonly raised. She had seen many beasts before, without every raising any herself. She thought they were cool, but she didn’t have a knack for the spells.

When she stowed her books in her locker after school, Amity made sure she had her list of questions before heading to the back exit. She had agreed to meet Luz behind the school, so they could walk to the beast keeping building together.

Due to the nature of beasts and the difficulty in containing them, the beasts were kept in a whole different building behind the school. Many lived there overnight as well, if the student didn’t have a proper space for them at home. This was especially needed for the larger creatures.

Luz was already waiting for Amity outside when she arrived. Amity apologized for making her wait, but always sweet Luz insisted she had just arrived.

“I’ve never been in the beast house.” Luz had a spring to each step as they walked towards the building.

Amity hadn’t expected that. “Aren’t you taking beast keeping classes?” She thought seeing the beasts would be part of the track.

“Yeah, but I don’t have a glyph for controlling beasts.” Luz spun around as she walked, holding up one finger towards Amity. “At least not yet.” She turned away to face forward, swinging her arms by her sides. “So my classes are all in the school.”

“Maybe you’ll learn one today.” Amity suggested with a smile.

Again Luz turned to her, brown eyes sparkling with excitement. “That would be amazing!” She fished her small notepad out of her pocket. “I’m beyond ready for a new spell.”

Luz looked so determined, so cute, for a moment Amity’s cheeks felt hot looking at her.

She snapped out of it when Luz asked if she was okay, shaking her head and insisting that yes, she was fine.

At that point they were almost to the beast keeping building, which was just past the grudgby ring. Luz pointed at it as soon as she saw it, walking faster to get there sooner. Her excitement was contagious, causing Amity to follow right along with her.

The beast keeping building was two stories tall and about the size of a barn. It was made of bricks and seemed to be reinforced with some kind of magic, though Amity couldn’t tell exactly what it did. It had two sets of doors both different sizes. The first was a witch sized door with a handle. The second was a large set of doors that went almost to the roof and were about 10 feet wide in total. These were likely for bringing beasts in and out of the building.

The two approached the witch sized door, with Luz pulling it open to enter. Amity followed closely behind and was immediately struck by the stench when she entered. The smell of beasts was overpowering, like a wall of stink. Luz seemed unbothered by it, her eyes gleaming as she looked around the inside.

Inside the building was mainly an open space with short walls that functioned as beast pens. A few students were inside, tending to their beasts.

Luz pointed out Viney, who was sitting in one of the middle pens with a griffin. Amity remembered seeing the griffin before, on Luz’s very first day at Hexside. Viney had been one of the witches to bring down the basilisk that day, after it sucked away the magic power of many students.

“Hey Viney!” Luz called out as they approached. The griffin turned its head to stare at them, which honestly was unsettling. Did it understand what they were saying? Amity had no idea.

“Hi Luz!” Viney stood from her stool to greet them. “You’re Amity, right?” She asked, green eyes shifting to Amity.

“Yes, it’s nice to meet you.” Amity replied, taking note of the fishhook earring and torn uniform. Her sleeves and pants, which Amity had expected to be two different colors, were all orange.

“Likewise.” Viney nodded, then turned back to Luz. “So, welcome to the beast house.” She gestured around the room, drawing the eyes of a couple other beast keeping students. “This is pretty much all there is to see.” She put one hand back on her griffin as she spoke, petting it gently.

“It’s so cool in here.” Luz put her hands against the edge of the pen, leaning over and slightly inside it. “Hi Puddles.” She reached in and pet the side of the griffin’s neck. It seemed to lean into her touch. “What other beasts do you raise?” Oh, that had been one of Amity’s questions.

“Let me show you.” Viney opened the small door to the pen, stepping out. She then walked to a nearby pen, signaling for Luz and Amity to follow. When Amity reached the pen, she looked inside. There were a few small furry creatures, with tiny paws and stubby tails, that were small enough that Viney was able to pick one up with one hand. A larger one was inside as well, asleep at the back wall of the pen. Luz gasped loudly when she saw them.

“These dog beasts are only a few weeks old.” Viney said as she carefully handled the small beast. It wiggled its little paws, head darting around to look at the people around it. When Luz started to reach towards it, Viney shook her head. “They’re teething.” She explained, moving to return the pup to the pen.

“Darn.” Luz pouted, then went back to looking in the pen. “But they’re so cute and tiny.” She cooed down at the beasts.

“When they’re grown, they’ll be trackers.” The beast dog tried to nip Viney’s fingers as she put it down, but she pulled her hand away before it could.

“Trackers?” Amity asked for clarification.

Viney brushed a few pieces of fur off her sleeves as she answered the question. “Things like tracking down lost items, locating witches, and helping the Emperor’s Coven. Beast dogs are great at that.”

“Ooh.” Luz was still enraptured with the creatures. “I love them.” She looked right at Amity when she declared this, causing Amity’s heart to skip a beat despite the word being said about the beasts and not her.

Amity cleared her throat to try and maintain composure. “What other jobs does the Beast Keeping Coven do?” She asked another question from her list.

“All sorts!” Viney responded enthusiastically. “Things like mail delivery and training beasts for combat are really common.”

“I can’t wait to try it. Someday, my new friends.” Luz finally stepped back from the pen, after waving goodbye to the beast dogs. The group started to move back towards the griffin, which had been watching them. Perhaps Amity imagined the gleam of jealousy in its eyes.

“What’ve you been doing at the internship?” Amity asked as they stopped next to it; she knew how Ed and Em’s were going, but was still curious about how other covens were handling it.

Viney smiled at the question, which was a sign that her experience was better than the twin’s so far. “We’ve been shadowing a mail witch.” She gestured to the griffin, which chirped once in a sort of response. “It’s been a lot of fun.”

“Did you show them Puddles’ healing trick?” Luz asked excitedly, though Amity didn’t know what she was talking about.

At this, Viney shook her head. “Principal Bump told me not to.” She reached over to pet Puddles, running her hand through its feathers.

“What, why not?” Luz crossed her arms, eyebrows furrowed together. One of the things Amity admired about her was how she worried about her friends, how she came to their defense.

“He never got approval for us multi track students.” Viney scoffed and frowned. “So I’m not supposed to tell anyone in the coven. He even changed my colors!” She lifted one arm, showing off the orange sleeve of her uniform.

Luz grimaced, an unusual look for her. “That’s awful.”

“It’s the way coven magic works.” Amity added, drawing both sets of eyes to her. “If she joins the Beast Keeping Coven, she’ll lose access to healing magic.”

“That’s true.” Viney sighed, leaning against the pen. “That’s why I’m not sure about joining. Healing magic is a part of me, just like beast keeping. I can’t imagine giving either up.” Behind her, Puddles cooed softly and nuzzled its beak into her arm. “And being covenless isn’t a viable option.”

A couple weeks before, before Eda was almost frozen into a statue, Amity knew that Luz would’ve immediately chimed in that being covenless was a great option. But now, after everything that happened, she wouldn’t say that.

“You’ll find a way.” Luz still managed to exceed Amity’s expectations as she moved to lean next to the upperclassman. “I know it.” She gently bumped Viney’s arm with her elbow.

Viney nodded, with a half smile. “Yeah, I’m sure I will.”

Over in the other pen, the sound of little barks could be heard. The beast dogs seemed to want something.

“Almost time for dinner.” Viney stood upright, brushing off the back of her pants. “Between you and me, they eat a lot.” She chuckled, likely in an attempt to bring the mood of the conversation up.

It worked; Luz laughed in response. “Can we watch them eat?” She asked, with her hands pressed together as if praying for a yes.

“Of course. I’ll be right back with their food.” Viney said, walking away to follow through on that. She came back a minute later with a couple large bowls in her hands, all full of a wet goo like substance. She took it over to the beast dog pen, with Amity and Luz following close behind.

When Viney leaned over to place the bowls inside she almost got nipped again, but was able to place them successfully. The small beasts rushed the bowls, climbing over each other for a chance to eat. Once they settled around them, there was a spot for each one.

Amity watched in wonder as she creatures ate through the provided food, not even noticing when Viney went to get another bowl for the fully grown dog beast. Next to her, Luz was doing the same. She started pointing at each dog beast and giving them names while they ate.

When the last bit of food was gone, the beasts abandoned the bowls. They gathered together in a pile, lying down for an after dinner nap.

“Time to get going?” Amity asked Luz, who seemed to be in pain trying to tear herself away from the dog beasts.

Luz thought about it for a moment, then nodded. “Yeah.” She turned to Viney. “We’re gonna head out, thank you sooo much for showing us around!”

“Thanks for visiting.” Viney replied amiably. She waved goodbye as they walked away, headed to the beast building exit.

When they got outside, Amity fully appreciated how nice fresh air truly was. It would take a long time to get the beast smell out of her memory.

“I need to learn that beast glyph.” Luz said as they walked away from the building, hitting the bottom of her right fist into her palm.

Amity didn’t feel quite so eager to dive right into beast keeping magic. Yes, the beast dogs had been cute, but controlling and training them was a whole different story.

For now, she was going to keep looking. There were plenty more covens still to visit.


	16. Day 10-11 - Emira

Emira had wanted to practice parts of the fireworks spell ever since she saw Jen perform it, but hadn’t had a chance until now. She’d spent the evening yesterday identifying and writing down some of the involved spells, which had taken a long time. She still wasn’t sure if she had it all right; it was probably wrong, but she wanted to try it.

This led to Emira standing in the back yard of her house, with a bottle of water in case of sparks. She had identified three layers that she thought she could cast together, so she was starting with those.

They were all part of the explosion, hence the need for water.

The first was the base spell, that provided the fire and the motion. It was a fire propulsion spell that allowed fine control of the blast. Emira had never cast it before, but she understood the theory and was confident in her abilities.

She carefully drew the magic circle, which triggered the spell. The fire appeared 10 feet off the ground. Emira had to move her finger to direct the fire, which she hadn’t seen Jen doing, but she managed to make it move in a firework like way. She let the spell drop, with a small sigh of relief. As a bonus, she didn’t set the grass on fire.

The second spell was a shimmer spell. It would make the whole thing shine and pop. This one was easier, and was similar to other spells Emira had cast. She tested it quickly, and was satisfied with the results.

The third spell was the hardest one. It magnified the image at a distance. In order for these fireworks to not be dangerous, they had to be a suitable distance above the ground. The third spell very discreetly magnified them, so they would be easier to see from the ground. It had to be applied consistently and broadly, which made it challenging. The location had to be exact as well, to make the image as crisp as possible.

Emira drew the circle for it, the largest circle of the three spells. She set it up in front of her, looking through it at a tree in the distance. It seemed to work, magnifying the tree in a satisfying way.

Emira dropped the spell, then stretched out her hands. She was going to try to cast all three.

First she cast the third one, putting up the magnifying layer overhead. Then she had to create the fire. She was able to cast the fire spell, but when she drew the circle for the shimmer spell the magnifying layer dropped.

Emira scowled, cursing her lack of focus, and tried again.

Again, the spell failed. That didn’t stop her though, and she kept at it.

After another ten attempts, she was able to fire off all three spells together. It made for some pretty good fireworks, she thought, but not nearly as good as what she saw the day before.

Maybe tomorrow she would ask.

* * *

When Emira had wanted harder jobs, this was not what she meant.

She and Jen had been sent out to help a plant witch grow their magic crops. They said the crops wouldn’t grow because there was too much sunlight.

Emira had never heard of that, she always thought too little sunlight would be a more likely culprit. She didn’t know anything about plants though.

Unfortunately, it was another bright and shining day on the Boiling Isles. This led to Emira and Jen making illusion cloud cover, lots of illusion cloud cover.

It was a simple spell, but it took a lot of focus and effort to maintain it properly over a wide area. If a single bit of sunlight came through, they would have to start over.

By the time they were done, Emira felt exhausted. Jen was still perky as usual; if she felt drained at all, she didn’t let it show.

When they got back to the coven, they stopped to chat outside. They had spent all day at the farm, so it was almost time to go home. Jen was still holding her palisman staff, since they hadn’t gone back to the office.

“Great work on those clouds today.” Jen offered a complement on Emira’s spell casting; it sounded sincere. “You did a good job keeping them thick enough to keep the sun out, while still covering the sky fully.”

“Thank you.” Emira was surprised that Jen had been watching. After all, she had covered a lot more sky than Emira did. “I was worried about over extending the spell.”

“That was a possibility.” Jen raised one hand to her chin, thinking about it.

Emira nodded. “Yeah.” She glanced at her scroll to check the time.

“Ready to head home?” Jen asked, clearly having noticed the gesture.

“Soon.” Emira replied, not wanting to go without asking about the firework spell she tried to build the night before. “I was wondering, do you think you could show me the layers for the firework spell? The one you did a few days ago.”

Jen’s eyes widened in surprise, just for a moment, before she smiled. “Of course!” She spun her palisman staff, planting it in the ground. “Which part did you want to see?” The spell seemed to be too complicated to break down the entire thing at once.

“The end portion, when they explode.” Emira specified the part she tried to figure out the night before.

“Alright. There are six spells contributing to that effect.” Jen said in an even tone, as if that wasn’t wildly impressive. Six layers, Emira was having trouble with just three. Emira could only gape as Jen continued explaining. “Three of them form the core, while the others are more for flair. If you’re trying to learn the spell, those first three are the most important.”

Emira blinked a couple times, snapping back to attention. “What are the spells?”

“Let me show you.” Jen lifted her hand, drawing a spell circle in the air. A fireball appeared, hovering in the air. “Layer one is a fireball, this is the easiest layer of the spell.” She drew another circle, adding in another spell. This caused the fireball to stretch and morph. “The second spell moves the fire.”

“You don’t do those with the same spell?” Emira remembered the spell she was using before, that had the movement and fire as part of the same spell.

Jen maintained the spells as she shook her head. “That ties your casting hand to the flame, so it’s not efficient.” Oh, that made sense. Jen then cast one more spell, changing the color and shine of the flame. “Third is a colored shimmer spell. This needs to be added multiple times for different colors.”

This was a completely different shimmer spell than the one Emira had been using. It was more complicated too, with the color mixed in. Jen dropped the spell and the fire vanished.

“Thank you for showing me.” Each part of this spell looked manageable, but combining them would certainly be a challenge.

“You’re very welcome.” Jen hadn’t so much as broken a sweat while layering those spells. “I’m happy to help.”

The two talked for a couple more minutes after that, mostly about what jobs they had lined up for the last day of the week.

Emira said goodbye to Jen, but stayed even after the witch left. She had gained so much information in that conversation; she absolutely wanted to try the changes to the spell.

She knew that she shouldn’t do it inside the coven; the building was made of wood.

Emira walked around the outside of the building to look for a good spot, and found a small grass field on one side. It wasn’t as large as at home, but the punishment for accidentally setting the grass on fire would be far less than at her house.

The first thing she did was cast each layer on their own. This was fairly easy, since the spells themselves were mostly simpler than the ones Emira was using the night before.

When it came time to combine them, however, she started to have trouble. She had more freedom in her hands with this new combo, but the shimmer spell always seemed to snap the whole thing.

Emira tried multiple times to cast the spell, making sure to keep it high enough off the ground to avoid accidental arson. Each time, when she tried to layer in the third spell, the fire spell would fizzle out.

After a few attempts, she took a break to work specifically on the shimmer spell. Instead of trying to layer it, she instead tried to cast it multiple times at once. That way she could get the feel for having it layered in a more controlled setting.

Emira was able to layer it a few times over itself, creating a weird multicolored sheet in the air. This worked alright, though it still felt unstable.

After that, Emira tried again to cast the spells together. Again, adding the third layer in caused the spell to fail. She cursed loudly with the failed attempt.

What was especially astounding to her, when she thought about it, was that Jen usually did this with six spells, not three.

Before Emira could worry about those later three layers, she had to master the first ones.

All of the sudden, Emira felt like she was being watched. It wasn’t a concrete feeling, more like a gut feeling. She turned to look towards the coven building, locking eyes with the secretary.

He must’ve heard the commotion and come to look, since he was watching her cast with wide eyes.

Emira turned away from him and walked back towards the front of the coven.

She would try again later; it was time to head home.


	17. Day 12 - Edric

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have finished writing this fic. It will be 34 chapters, which is one less than expected. This chapter marks the half way point, thanks for reading!

As usual, Edric was waiting outside the locker room for Frederick. They met there every morning, and since Frederick changed into his uniform at the jail Edric sometimes found himself waiting for that to happen.

Edric was staring into space, lost in thought. This was the end of week two of the internship, which meant he was almost half way done with it. He hoped the next two weeks would go faster than the previous ones, so he could finally escape from this experience.

While he was thinking, Frederick appeared from the locker room. He tapped Edric on the shoulder without a word, and then started walking towards the dispatcher’s office. This too was part of their routine, going to get their assignment for the day.

The dispatcher told them they were assigned to patrol, told them the route, and then sent them on their way. Since they weren’t training, Edric’s revenge would have to wait.

It was expected to be a quiet route, so they went on foot and without a palisman staff. Edric greatly preferred flying, since it helped his feet hurt less.

Frederick was also making him carry the wood practice sword on patrol with him, which was super annoying. It hung heavily off of his belt, threatening to pull his pants down with every step. Edric had to tighten his belt to keep that from happening.

Their walk today was far too, farther than they usually had to walk for patrol. As they traveled, Frederick broke the silence to start a conversation.

“Have you been practicing your sword blocks?” Frederick asked, glancing back over his shoulder.

Edric lied. “A little.” It was a white lie; even if he practiced it wouldn’t have made a difference.

“Good.” Frederick nodded firmly. “Don’t forget to use it if we end up in a fight.”

“I will.” Another lie, as Edric had no intention of using the sword to do anything. His magic served him well enough, there was no reason to use a physical weapon. He was so bad with it anyway, there was no way it would help.

The brief conversation died there, as they soon reached their patrol location. Frederick took the lead on the patrol, with Edric following as usual. Edric kept an eye out for trouble; he had gotten marginally better at spotting criminals over the last two weeks.

Though Edric was vigilant, nothing was happening. There weren’t very many witches around and no warrants in the area. All of this led to a long boring patrol, where Edric could only dwell on how many steps he had taken so far.

That changed when a small magic bird flew up to Edric. It fluttered around his head, chirping loudly. When Frederick noticed it, he held up his hand, letting it land on one finger. Attached to one of its legs was a small piece of paper, which Frederick untied to read.

He skimmed it for just a moment, then turned to Edric. “We’re being called in as backup. They need help at the market.” Frederick immediately started walking while he talked, heading in the direction of the market. Edric quickly followed after him. They moved much faster than earlier.

When they reached the market, they had to walk past a coven member at the entrance. He told them to head to the center, where the other patrol witches were gathering.

“Stay with me.” Frederick said as they walked towards the center of the market, a reminder that Edric shouldn’t split off from him like last week.

Edric knew they were in the right spot when he saw a group of six Emperor’s Coven members. They were all huddled together, talking rapidly in hushed tones.

“Report, what’s going on?” Frederick asked as they approached, grabbing the attention of the group.

One stepped away to come speak with them. “Sir, we have a criminal trapped in the market. One of our officers cornered him here, but we lost him. We have members guarding all of the exits, so he’s still here somewhere.”

“Are you tracking him?” Frederick sounded serious, not wasting any time with his question.

The coven member nodded as he replied. “We have a beast dog searching, but it can’t seem to pick up his scent.”

“Where do you want us?”

“The east side.” The coven member pointed in that direction, at least Edric assumed it was the same direction. He then gave them the description of the criminal, so they would know who to look for.

“We’re on it.” Fredrick turned to walk that way and Edric followed without a word.

There was a thick tension in the air as they moved slowly into the side of the market, with many of the customers stopping to stare. It must’ve been odd to see so many Emperor’s Coven members in one place; Edric knew that if he was watching then he’d find it strange too.

It would also be a great opportunity to prank the patrol witches, if he hadn’t been working with them. Though, after spending a couple weeks following them around, he was starting to think pranking them was a bad idea.

Regardless, here he was, trying to find this criminal. Trying and failing so far; he and Frederick weren’t having any luck.

This gave Edric time to think, how could the flush this guy out? The beast couldn’t find him, which meant he was skilled at hiding. Perhaps a trick would work better than just searching. Wait, that was it.

“Hey, Freddy, I have an idea.” Edric tried another nickname to lighten the tension, because why not.

Fredrick held up one finger, pointing at Edric. He didn’t speak immediately though, seeming to think carefully about his words. “What’s your idea?” He finally settled on, deciding not to rebuke the nickname.

Edric smiled at the victory. “With the right trick, we can draw him out.” He gestured for Frederick to come closer, so he could share the plan more discreetly. “All the exits are blocked, right? What if we make him think one is open?”

“He’ll try to escape.” Frederick leaned in, matching Edric’s low tone. “How do we do that?”

“Illusion magic.” Edric smirked beneath his mask. “I can make the guard invisible.”

“Completely invisible?” Frederick sounded skeptical, like he didn’t believe him. He still didn’t know that Edric had snuck Mittens in on Monday, without a single witch noticing her.

Edric nodded, positive he could do it. “Yes, you’ll see.”

“Alright, it’s worth a shot.” Frederick stepped back, returning to a regular speaking volume. “We’ll have to get the witch guarding the gate on board, let’s go.”

They were close to one of the side exits, which was one of the smaller ones. This was ideal for the plan, since a mistake in coverage was more likely to happen at a smaller exit than a larger one.

There was only one coven member there when they arrived, which was just what they needed. Frederick quickly filled her in on the plan, which she thought was a great idea. They had Edric stand just outside the gate, tucked away where he couldn’t be seen from the inside, so he could safely cast the spell. Frederick went back in to patrol one of the attached branches, so he wouldn’t be far if something happened.

Once they were in place, Edric started casting the spell. He added all of the needed layers to ensure complete invisibility. He heard the coven member gasp in surprise when the spell activated, which was a good sign that it was applied correctly.

After that, he had to hold the spell and wait. He couldn’t see the exit properly from here, so he had to rely on his ears to know what was happening.

For the next ten minutes, he waited with bated breath. Right as he was wondering if he should go check in with Frederick about their next moves, he heard shouting from the exit.

Edric dashed around the corner and saw that someone had fallen to the ground. They seemed to be held down there by an unseen force, which was likely the invisible coven member. Edric dissipated the spell, and sure enough the coven member reappeared on top of the fallen witch. She was putting cuffs on his wrists as Frederick ran up.

“Got him.” The coven member said as she stood, leaving the criminal on the ground. She kept an eye on him as she drew an illusion spell circle that sent a flare up, calling the other coven members to their location. “Great work on that spell!” She called over to Edric.

Edric was in disbelief that it actually worked. Not that he hadn’t expected it to, he was an excellent trickster after all, but seeing it go smoothly like this felt great.

“Thanks.” He called back, a smile growing under his mask.

Frederick approached and clasped a hand down on his shoulder, startling him slightly. “I’m impressed.” Frederick’s grip was firm.

Before Edric could reply, another group of coven members arrived on the scene. They immediately took the criminal into further custody, while asking for reports on how they caught him.

“We drew him out with a trick, it was Frederick’s idea.” The coven member guard told one who was writing down their accounts. “It worked like a charm.”

Edric felt a twinge of disappointment, but it didn’t surprise him that Frederick would get credit for the arrest. He was in charge after all, while Edric was just an intern who didn’t even want to be there.

“Actually, it was Edric who came up with it.” Frederick cut in to the conversation, drawing the attention of the two coven members. “We couldn’t’ve done it without him.” Edric’s eyes were wide at this, but his surprise quickly faded. It was replaced with pride, and perhaps even a smidge of warmth.

After the interviews were done he thanked Frederick, but he said that no thanks were necessary and that good work should be recognized.

They soon were dismissed from the scene to go back to base, and from there Edric went home.

For the first time in the last two weeks, he wasn’t upset with how the day had gone.


	18. Day 15 - Emira

Today was an important day for Emira. Not because anything special was happening at the coven, no, that wasn’t it. Someone special was coming to visit.

It started over the weekend, when Amity asked if she and Luz could come for a tour of the coven. They were on a quest to learn about all of the different major covens, and were eager to see what happened inside the Illusion Coven.

Emira said yes, of course, and told Amity to be there around 5:00. That would give her time to get back to the coven and to prepare for the tour. Amity looked so excited when Emira said yes; she wanted the tour to be excellent. Even though her experience so far had been mixed so far, she wanted to give Amity and Luz a good impression.

Amity had told her about the tour Ed gave her of the jail, how she had to be invisible the whole time because they wouldn’t let her in. The Illusion Coven wouldn’t have the same restrictions, so that was already an improvement. Emira didn’t even have to ask, she was confident that they would be allowed in.

Over the course of the day, as Emira backed up Jen on a couple pieces of magic, she planned the tour in her mind. She also wanted to show off her new fireworks spell, just to add some pizazz.

They made it back to the coven at 4:00, so she had some time to prepare. Emira made sure the doors to the auditorium were unlocked, checked to see if any of her classmates were hanging around, and then waited in Jen’s office with her. Jen was working on some paperwork, probably for one of their earlier jobs. Emira had talked with her earlier about how Amity and Luz were coming to visit, and Jen said she was excited to meet them. She commented on how she hadn’t seen her own siblings for many years and that she should give them a call.

While she waited, Emira practiced casting a small version of the shimmer layer that always made the fireworks spell fail. She could layer it on itself, but when it came to the full spell it was trouble. The more she worked on it, the easier it would get though.

Before she knew it, 5:00 had arrived. Emira got up and left Jen to her paperwork, heading to the front to wait for Amity and Luz.

She didn’t have to wait for long, as in the next few minutes they arrived. Amity had always been timely, and now was no exception.

Luz practically bounced into the lobby, her head almost swiveling to try and take everything in. Amity followed behind her at a much more reasonable pace, though her eyes too wandered around the room.

The secretary greeted them, but Emira butted in before they could talk with him.

“They’re with me.” She said, drawing their attention to her. She was standing near the employees only door.

“Hi Emira!” Luz greeted her enthusiastically, walking over to her side of the room. “Thank you soooo much for the tour.” Amity moved with her, nodding in agreement.

“It’s no problem.” Emira gestured around the room they were in as the two teens stopped in front of her. “First stop is the lobby. Customers make requests here.”

“What kind of requests?” Luz wanted to know. She poked one of the couches as if to test the fluff level. Amity was watching her, a small smile on her face. Emira had been seeing that expression more often from her lately, ever since the trip to The Knee. She made a mental note to think more on that later.

Emira started to walk towards the doors to the auditorium as she answered the question. “Jobs that need illusion magic. Like advertising and performances, for example.” The two followed her.

“That’s so cool.” Luz seemed impressed, though from Emira’s experience she was easily impressed.

Amity chimed in, her eyes moving from Luz to Emira. “Which have you been doing?”

“Mostly performance.” Emira answered honestly, right as she reached the doors to the auditorium. “Jen, who I’ll take you to meet, specializes in performance illusions.” Emira assumed that to be true, based on what she learned last week about the performance requests. There was also Jen’s astounding ability in performance magic. “They also hold performances here sometimes, in the auditorium.” Emira opened the door with a flourish, leading her two charges inside.

“Ooh.” Luz’s eyes seemed to sparkle as she looked around the large space. “Can we go on the stage?” She turned to Emira with a hopeful look.

“Sure.” Emira didn’t see why not.

Luz squealed in excitement, then scurried off to climb onto the stage. Amity trailed after her, looking around the auditorium as she moved. When she reached the stage, she joined Luz on top of it.

Emira waved at the pair, and they both smiled and returned the gesture. She let them stay up there for a few more minutes, watching as Luz started to act out some kind of skit, before calling them down to move on.

Both were smiling as they joined her at the door, seeming to enjoy the tour so far.

“Next we’ll see the coven members only area.” Emira said as she led them back through the lobby, stopping at the employees only door. She waited for a moment, to build anticipation, before opening it and leading them through.

First, she took them past all the offices, so they could see the break room. She’d only been in there a few times, but it was decently decorated.

They had to pass the long hallways of offices to get there, which also meant passing the coven leader’s office. Emira hadn’t spoken with him since she started working with Jen, which was completely fine by her. He left a bad first impression.

“What’s the coven leader like here?” Amity asked as they passed his office, after Luz pointed out his name on the door.

Emira shrugged, she didn’t want to say anything negative within a hundred feet of him. “He seems fine, he takes contract work like the others.”

“Interesting.” Amity looked back over her shoulder at his door, but turned back to facing forward when it was too far away.

They soon reached the break room, which was at the end of the hallways. Emira took the two inside it and let them look around. There was a table with a matching chair set, a sink, and a couch. The furniture in the lobby was nicer.

“It’s cleaner than the one at the jail.” Amity commented, though that didn’t mean much.

They soon moved on, headed back through the offices. Emira led them to Jen’s office and held the door open for them to enter.

“This is my office, where I work with Jen.” Emira said as Amity and Luz walked past her into the room. Still sitting at her desk, Jen looked up at the sound of her name.

“Hello!” She welcomed them warmly and waved as they came in.

Emira shut the door behind her. “Jen, this is my little sister Amity.” She ruffled Amity’s hair, much to her annoyance. She had thought about introducing her as Mittens, but decided against it. “And her friend Luz.” She was Emira’s friend too, but it was easier to introduce her this way. Luz was staring with wide eyes at the trinkets on Jen’s desk.

“It’s wonderful to meet both of you.” Jen rose from her chair and stepped around her desk to better speak with them. She looked right at Amity as she said, “If you’re like your sister, I’m sure you’re a fine witch!”

Emira’s face felt warm at that; it was a much higher complement than expected. “Amity is the top student in her abomination class.” She cut in to keep the focus away from her.

“What track are you in?” Jen turned to Luz with the question. She must’ve noticed the multi colored sleeves of her school uniform, but didn’t seem to know what they meant.

“All of them!” Luz replied enthusiastically.

Jen’s smile faltered for a moment, she probably wasn’t sure what to make of that response, before returning in full force. “Wow!” She stepped back towards her desk, picking up one of the objects that were always on it. It looked like a small rectangular box. “Do you want to see some magic?” Jen looked between Amity and Luz as she asked.

“Absolutely!” Luz was grinning.

Jen opened the box, taking out a stack of cards. She shuffled them quickly, then fanned them out in front of Luz. “Pick a card, don’t show it to me.” Luz reached forward and ran her finger across each card slowly, her eyes narrowed as she considered which one to pick. She finally settled on a card near the center, taking it from the pile. Amity leaned over to look at it too.

“Memorize it, and then place it back in the deck.” Jen left the cards fanned the same way they had been while she waited for Luz to return the card. The teen followed through a moment later, putting the card somewhere near the bottom of the deck.

Jen straightened the deck out, then started to shuffle it again. “Now I’m going to find your card. I’ll pull some from the deck, and yours will be the third one.” Her hands stopped with the deck again in a smooth stack. Luz had her eyes locked on it. Next to her, Amity had one hand lifted to her chin. Both were focused solely on the cards. “Are you ready?”

“Bring it.” Luz nodded once, firmly.

Jen’s eyes gleamed in a way Emira hadn’t seen before. She flipped the top card of the deck for all to see, and handed it to Emira. She then flipped the next card and handed it to Amity. She then flicked the third card twice and flipped it.

Luz’s eyes went wide. Next to her, Amity gasped. “Oh my god.” Luz said in disbelief.

“Is this your card?” Jen asked, despite the clear reaction.

“It is.” Luz nodded, still not seeming to believe her eyes.

“How though?” Amity looked thoughtful as she asked. “I didn’t see you cast a spell.”

“A magician never reveals her secrets.” Jen winked playfully.

“It’s human magic,” Luz said, drawing all eyes to her. “So there’s no spell circle or glyph.”

That was news to Emira. There weren’t any kinds of magic done without spells. Even Luz’s magic had glyphs, which functioned like spell circles.

“Exactly.” Jen took the two cards back from Emira and Amity. She put them back in the deck, then stowed it in the box. “I have more, for next time you visit.”

The two thanked Jen for the show, and then prepared to move on to the last part of the tour. Emira said bye to Jen, who replied that she’d see her tomorrow, and then left the office. She led her tour group back to the front of the building, where they went outside.

“And that’s the Illusion Coven.” Emira gestured towards the building. “Any questions?”

“I think I’m all questioned out.” Luz said, her eyes still roving across the building.

Amity, as usual, still had some. “Do you think you’ll join the coven?” Her gold eyes were piercing, even more so with the choice of question.

It was a tough question too, one Emira had been avoiding asking herself. She had been with the coven for just over two weeks now, and hadn’t been having the best experience so far. She loved illusion magic though, and this was the place to do it. Last week she had found something to appreciate here, and was enjoying it more than before. She didn’t have an answer yet.

What to say to Amity though, that was tough. “I’m not sure.” Was what Emira settled on. Amity didn’t look impressed with that response, but she let it slide. “While I have you here, I want to show you an illusion spell I’ve been working on.”

Emira walked further from the building, wanting to be a safe distance away from it. She stopped Luz and Amity and had them stand about ten feet away from her, to be sure that they wouldn’t get singed.

Then she started casting the fireworks spell. She added all three layers, though with a weaker version of the third one so it wouldn’t collapse. The fire moved through the air as expected, with both Luz and Amity staring up at it. When the light faded away, the two clapped.

“Oh wow can you do again?” Luz took out a small notepad from her back pocket, one that was about the size of her palm. She ripped a sheet of paper off of it and held it up towards the sky.

“Sure.” Emira recast the spells, making the fireworks again appear in the sky. They weren’t as good as Jen’s, but they were hers.

Luz was still holding up her piece of paper, pointing it directly at the display. When the spells ended, she brought the paper down to eye level. Luz and Amity looked astonished at what was on it, but Emira couldn’t see it from this distance.

She walked over to look, and was shocked to see a mess of overlapping lines on the paper. “What’s that?” She asked. It looked like Luz’s regular magic, but way messier.

“A glyph?” Luz said it with the tone of a question. She turned the paper in her hands, as if that would help make it readable. “I think.”

“They’re not normally this complicated.” Amity commented, reaching forward to take the paper so she could look at it closer. “Or overlapping.”

“Can you cast layered spells?” Emira doubted it. At least, she was pretty sure multiple glyphs couldn’t be cast on the same piece of paper. Though, she had thought that about spell circles too and she’d seen Jen do it.

“You can layer them?” Luz asked, already seeming excited about the prospect.

“Yes, but it’s difficult to do correctly.” Amity replied as she handed the paper back to Luz. “That’s probably why the glyph didn’t copy.”

“Multiple spells equals multiple glyphs.” Luz mused, flipping to another blank page of her notepad. She drew a glyph and then activated it, sending a ball of light into the air. She then drew another, which made a small pillar of ice. It shot up and hit the light ball, sending it flying away. She watched this happen with a thoughtful look in her eyes.

The three talked for a bit longer about glyphs, before declaring this to be the actual end of the tour. Amity and Luz thanked her again, before parting ways to head home.

Emira stuck around for a little longer, to keep working on her spell.

She wanted to raise the potency of the shimmer spell, to get the whole thing working correctly.


	19. Day 16 - Edric

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy new year everyone!

Once again, the dispatcher assigned Edric and Frederick to train for the day. They seemed to spend just over half of their days training.

Normally Edric would’ve been annoyed, though that was often true no matter what they were assigned to do, but today he was actually hoping to train.

His revenge was ready. All he had to do was wait for the right moment to strike. The next time Frederick swung a wood sword his way, he was in for a fun surprise.

Luckily, Frederick was still very interested in his progress with the sword. Once they got started with training, that was the first thing he wanted to work on.

“Don’t forget your stance.” Frederick reminded him, pushing up his elbow that always seemed to be too low.

Once he was satisfied, he started to swing at Edric’s guard.

That was what Edric had been waiting for. Using his free left hand, he drew an illusion spell circle in the air. It was a small one, since this was a small spell. It was high power over a small space, but it was about to make a big impact.

Right as Frederick was half way through his swing, a small illusion appeared under his leading foot. It didn’t lift and didn’t try to throw him off balance. All it did was make a few inches of the ground smooth, frictionless.

This had the intended effect. Frederick’s foot slid across the ground, bringing him crashing to the floor. He didn’t make a sound at the impact, didn’t even drop his sword. This wasn’t as funny as Edric thought it would be. Edric still had his sword up, just in case.

Fredrick popped up to his feet immediately, looking down at the ground to try and find what tripped him. He turned his head to search, but couldn’t find anything. That was because the illusion was invisible; Edric had made sure of it.

“How did you do that?” Frederick gave up searching and looked at Edric. He didn’t sound as irritated as Edric thought he’d be, no, he was still calm as usual.

Edric was smirking beneath his mask. “Just some illusion magic.” He said simply.

Now Frederick put his sword down. “Show me.” That was a surprise.

Edric let his sword drop as well, placing it on the ground. He lifted his hand to draw the spell circle. “Like this.” He cast the spell, once again removing the friction below Frederick’s foot. Since he was standing still, this only made him stumble slightly.

“That’s incredible.” Frederick was again looking at the ground, where his foot had slid from. “How does it work?”

He seemed so excited, which was unusual for him, that Edric didn’t have the heart to deny him. “It makes a small no friction space on the ground. If you put it in exactly the right spot, you can stop someone dead in their tracks.” It was also useful for sending objects rolling at high velocity, but Edric didn’t feel the need to mention that now.

“Why not use a larger area?” Frederick asked, likely thinking about trying to use it on an escaping suspect. He always seemed to be thinking about work.

Edric shook his head. “The more space you try to fill, the harder the spell is to cast. The size of a foot is pretty easy, but anything bigger gets more difficult.”

“I see.” Frederick mused, lifting his hand into casting position. He cast the spell circle very slowly, looking down at his own feet. He likely was trying to cast it on himself, rather than Edric.

When the circle was finished, Frederick was able to slide one of his feet around with less friction, but it wasn’t completely effective.

“This will be very useful.” Fredrick said as he brought down the spell. “Great thinking!”

This prank had not gone as expected at all. That wasn’t a bad thing though. It was almost flattering, seeing how excited Frederick was about this spell.

Frederick was trying to cast the spell again, while looking down at his feet. His second attempt was similar to his first. He dropped the spell with a slight shake of his head.

“What else are you hiding?” Frederick asked as he turned back to Edric, with a tone that was somewhere between playful and accusatory.

If he wanted to see more illusions, Edric had no problem showing them off. “More than you know. This one’s for invisibility.” Edric drew the spell circle for the base of the invisibility spell he used the prior week. “You have to layer it for the best effect, but it’s ok with just one spell.” The spell activated, turning Frederick invisible. He still had a noticeable heat shimmer and could be spotted by anyone who squinted in his direction.

“I remember this spell.” Frederick commented, still invisible. “You used it Friday, to make the guard disappear.”

“A version of it.” Edric replied as he dissipated the spell, which made Frederick reappear. “Layers make it harder to spot.”

“Hmm.” Frederick moved as if to try and cast it, but didn’t get through drawing the spell circle. He gave it another attempt with the same result. “It might be too challenging for me.” He said glumly. Edric was sure that he was frowning beneath that mask.

Edric shrugged; illusion magic came easily to him. It was the other types that he found difficult. “Just keep working on it, I guess.”

“Perhaps.” Frederick dropped his hand, seeming to give up for the time being. “These spells are certainly unconventional.” He spoke slowly, as if considering his words carefully. “But I’m impressed.” This felt like a big admission.

“I can work on some new ones.” Edric smelled an opportunity. “For catching criminals. Though I guess I’ll have to give up those other spells.” He tried to sound both regretful and sincere, but seriously doubted how effective his attempt was.

“How about this.” Yup, Frederick wasn’t buying it. “You can create new illusion spells, but only if you put serious effort into learning that healing spell.” Oh right, the healing spell Edric had been avoiding.

It wasn’t a complete victory, but it was better than how things were before. “Deal.” Edric said, lifting a hand to shake on it. Frederick accepted the handshake without hesitation.

“Let’s work on that healing spell then.” Of course he wanted to do that.

Edric withheld a sigh. “Fine.”

Frederick cast a small plant spell, bringing up one of the roots they often used to practice healing. Edric cut a nick in it, used to this routine by now. He then cast the healing spell, which had a slightly improved effect.

Frederick commented that he was getting better, but not nearly fast enough. At this rate, he wouldn’t be even close to proficient with the spell by the end of his internship.

Edric was fine with that, but he had to keep working on the spell anyway. After all, he had never been able to find an illusion spell to replace it.

They practiced it for the next hour, with Edric making small amounts of progress. Near the end of the session, he was almost able to completely heal the root.

“That’s enough for now.” Frederick said after that final attempt. “Go work on your illusions, we’ll reconvene later.”

Finally, Edric could work on something he was good at instead of magic he literally couldn’t do. “Great.” He replied, not even sarcastically this time.

He then parted from Frederick, walking a decent distance away to work on his illusion spells.

There were all sorts of cool things he could do with them; he wasn’t sure where to start first.

Em had told him recently about some magic she was learning that used a shimmer screen to add color rather than mixing it in a base spell. That was an interesting idea. He wondered if it could be used to transpose images onto a wall, without them looking fake. It would be an easier spell than a high quality image, and also wouldn’t require layers if it worked.

So Edric started with that, testing a few different shimmer spells on one of the walls to see if he could make a convincing image with them. Unfortunately, that didn’t really work. They were too transparent to be believable, too hard to see. He could layer spells in, but that would defeat the purpose.

Next, he works on a cloning spell. Specifically, making a clone of himself. He already knew a spell to do this, but the clones it made were completely intangible. This meant that they looked good, but didn’t actually have a physical form. They were basically useless for any practical work.

Edric knew a spell for making physical ones too, with the downside that it took a lot larger spell circle and more energy to cast. It also required higher levels of focus to maintain, which could be bad in a high tension situation.

He got to work though, trying to find a balance between the two. The goal was illusion clones that could take a hit, while also not draining all of his magic.

He had barely noticed how much time had passed when Frederick called him to lunch.


	20. Day 17 - Amity

A group of four young witches were all walking together, all headed to the same destination. They were going to see a bard troupe perform, to see what the Bard Coven was like.

It still felt strange for Amity to be hanging out with Willow, even after what happened with grudgby, but it wasn’t a bad sort of strange. She was mostly excited to spend time with Luz and her friends and to go visit another coven. The group was a traveling troupe that worked for the Bard Coven, though they weren’t that well known.

Amity first heard about them from Luz, who brought a flyer for the upcoming show to school. As far as she knew, Gus and Willow learned about them the same way. Regardless, the four of them were on their way to see the group perform. “Where did you hear about this troupe?” Amity asked Luz as they walked.

Luz was leading the group from the front, with Gus and Willow right behind her and Amity in the rear. She spun to walk backwards as she answered the question. “Eda told me about them.” She masterfully hopped backwards over a large crack in the sidewalk. “She said she knows the pianist.”

“I wonder if they’ll let us backstage.” Gus already had his flags out, ready to wave them with the music.

Willow shrugged, but didn’t look hopeful. “Maybe.” She said. Amity didn’t comment on the idea.

“Either way, it’s gonna be great!” Luz spun back to face forward, pumping one fist in the air.

“Yeah!” Gus echoed her motion, raising his flags high to the sky.

The conversation flowed easily as they walked.

“Oh!” Luz seemed to remember something, likely something she had forgotten. “I’m supposed to ask, Gus, have you heard anything about Lilith’s job being filled?” She just looked over her shoulder as she spoke, rather than turning around like before.

That question interested Amity too; she didn’t know the answer but she was very curious. Edric hadn’t been able to provide an answer to this question either.

“Umm.” Gus scratched the back of his head. “I don’t think I have. I can ask my dad, but I don’t think anything’s changed.” So that was a no then. It was unusual to leave the coven leader spot open for this long.

“Okay thanks!” Luz didn’t seem bothered by it. She switched topics easily, to something she had learned in school that day.

A couple minutes later and they reached the stage for the performance. It was set up in the market, with signs advertising the performers around it.

The stage was built tall, at least a foot over the heads of the young witches. It had a set of stairs leading up to it and a large curtain hiding the stage, keeping the instruments and performers out of sight.

For the crowd, it seemed to be standing room only. About 50 witches were already there, waiting for the performance to start. Amity and her friends joined them, getting a decent spot about halfway back from the stage.

“Have you ever tried bard magic?” Luz had settled next to Amity, directly to her left. In the tight crowd, their hands were dangerously close. Luz’s face as well, which was turned towards Amity to ask the question, was warming Amity’s cheeks with its proximity.

Amity tried to keep her cool as she shook her head. “I haven’t.” She admitted, thinking back to when she chose the abomination track. Though there were many tracks available, bard was not one on her parents’ pre-approved list. “Have you?”

Luz’s eyes were glimmering. “No but I really want to. I played the recorder in 5th grade, but it was so boring and not magical.” She stuck her tongue out in a mock vomiting gesture. “I wonder if I can even do bard magic.”

“Right,” Amity mused, trying to bring her left hand up to her chin. She bumped Luz’s along the way, sending a shock through her whole body. She recovered quickly, forcing her hand up to complete the gesture. “Y-your glyphs might be difficult with music.” Amity’s face burned with embarrassment; it must’ve been bright red.

“Maybe if I drew them on the instrument.” Luz, bless her oblivious soul, didn’t seem to notice that their hands bumped. “Or taped them to it, that could work.”

“You should try it.” Amity suggested.

Luz opened her mouth to respond, but was interrupted by Willow, who was standing on her other side.

“Shh, it’s starting.”

Both girls looked up towards the stage, where the curtain was being pulled back. The stage was then lit up with a few magical lights as three witches walked out onto it. These were the same witches that had been on the posters around the venue. They were each carrying instruments. One had a violin, the next a guitar, and the third a keyboard.

Each member took a position on the stage and set up their instrument. The keyboard, as it turned out, was set up to float in place. It looked cool to Amity, who had only experienced pianos that were firmly anchored to the ground. She glanced over at Luz, who was staring with wide eyes at the floating instrument.

The witches exchanged a look with the others, then began to play. The music was upbeat and lively as it spread over the crowd. It was a nice song; Amity enjoyed listening to it.

The violinist took the lead, playing a melodic line above the other two. As they played, the air overhead started to change. Large images that looked like music notes appeared and floated away from the stage. Amity watched them in wonder as they spun to the beat of the song.

She wondered if they were part of the bard magic, or if they were illusions. She’d seen her siblings make very similar looking images, but they didn’t move the way these did.

As the song continued, the music notes changed colors as well. It was pretty entertaining to watch.

When the song ended, the group quickly started another one. This one was slower, so the music notes changed to other shapes.

Amity looked away from them to watch the performers, specifically the violinist. She was smiling out at the audience, radiating energy. Even though Amity knew playing the violin was difficult, this witch made it look effortless.

As the second song wrapped up, Luz cheered loudly next to her. Amity cheered too and clapped for the group.

They took a minute to introduce themselves, and each showed off some of their music skills. The guitarist played a small solo, with visible sound waves radiating from the strings. The pianist followed after him with his fingers gliding smoothly over the strings. The violinist was last, but certainly not least. She played by herself for only a moment, but it was enough to send chills down Amity’s spine.

With their introductions done, they started their next song. This one was even faster than the first, with new visual elements on stage.

Amity couldn’t tear her eyes away as she watched the whole performance. She loved every minute of their playing, especially the violinist, and was glad she had come to see them.

She didn’t notice Luz stealing a glance her way, every once in a while, since she was so focused on the music.

When the final song ended, the performers bowed for the audience. Amity clapped for them, along with the rest of the crowd. They waved goodbye and then pulled the curtain back into place.

With that, the show was over. Amity felt a twinge of disappointment; she’d really enjoyed it. She turned to follow Luz, Gus, and Willow away from the crowded area, as many witches were trying to leave.

They were able to find a spot between a couple market stalls to stand in, away from the bustling path.

“They were very good.” Willow commented with a smile.

Gus had stowed his flags, likely after finding the crowd too tight to wave them. “The first song was my favorite.”

“I liked them all.” Amity contributed to the conversation, finding her spot in to fit in.

Luz was grinning, in very much her usual way. “I love the pianist, he was so cool when he was like, bah dah bah.” Luz mimicked playing the piano, moving her hands up and down in an exaggerated fashion.

“This was fun, we should do it again sometime.” Willow was speaking to the group, but her eyes were locked on Amity. A gesture, an extended hand of sorts, one Amity still didn’t think she deserved.

Amity nodded without a word.

“Absolutely we will!” Luz gave a high energy response.

Willow nodded slightly. “I’m glad. I have to head home now, there’s homework to be done.” She waved in a small gesture. Luz’s returned it with a much higher level of enthusiasm.

“I have to go too.” Gus cut in. “See you tomorrow!” He waved as well, and once Luz and Amity said goodbye the pair walked away into the market.

That left just Luz and Amity, still standing between the market stalls.

“During the show, I had an idea.” Luz immediately jumped into a new conversation topic. “We should try some instruments.”

Amity agreed, that was a good idea. It was hard to know if she was actually interested in the bard coven without trying out some bard magic. There was a problem though. “That sounds good, but how would we do that?”

Luz was still smiling, her brown eyes glimmering even in the shadows. “There’s an instrument shop in the market, I bet they’d let us.” Oh, so she had a place in mind. That did sound like a solid plan.

“Lead the way.” Amity couldn’t help but smile.

Luz did just that, stepping out from between the stalls to head across the market. Amity walked next to her, keeping an eye peeled for their destination. The crowds were considerably thinner than before, as most of the witches who came to see the performance had time to leave.

After a few minutes of walking, Amity spotted the instrument stand. It stood out for having a large number of instruments on display. There were brass instruments, woodwinds, strings, and even some keyboards. There was a sign overhead that said, ‘you break it, you bought it’.

Luz skipped over to it when she saw it, Amity right alongside her.

“Good afternoon.” The stall owner greeted them, “Please be careful with the instruments.” He gestured up at the sign, making sure they had seen it.

“We will be!” Luz said as she took a violin off the wall. “Want to try this one?” She asked Amity, moving to hand it to her.

Amity was floored, jaw dropping open slightly. How had Luz known? She hadn’t said anything about the violinist after the show.

After a moment of staring, Amity snapped herself out of it and accepted the violin. Luz reached back to the wall to get a bow, which she also handed to her.

Now that she was holding it, Amity was reminded how far out of her depth she was. She wasn’t even sure how to hold the instrument properly, let alone play it.

But Luz’s expectant eyes were on her, and besides this was what they came her to do. She held the neck of the violin in her left hand, lifting it to her shoulder like she saw the performer do. Amity then clutched the bow tightly in her right hand, bringing it to the strings.

She slowly tried to pull it across, making a faint noise in the process. Amity lifted the bow to reset it and try again, this time making what could almost be considered a sound. It would be fun to learn this instrument, but she was probably too old to start doing it now. That was a disappointing thought.

“You’re a natural!” Luz gave her wholly undeserved complements. Amity gave the bow one last pull, before bringing the instrument off her shoulder slowly.

“I don’t think so.” Amity said, handing it back to Luz who put it back on the wall.

Next, Luz took a small horn off the wall. It looked to be some kind of trumpet. She brought it to her lips without a care for who else had done so.

The sound that came out was somewhere between a goose and an elephant. It was loud and way too close to Amity’s ears for comfort. Amity resisted the urge to cover them, as it only lasted a moment.

Luz lowered the instrument when she finished, and burst out laughing. Her laughter was a much more appealing sound than the horn had been.

The stand owner was less amused. “Please don’t disturb the market.” He said firmly, insisting that Luz put the horn back.

“Sorry.” She was still half laughing while she did as instructed. Luz then looked at more of the instruments, but didn’t pick them up. She stopped at one box, looking intently at it.

“Do you want to learn one?” Amity asked, joining her at a box of small flute like instruments.

“Yup.” Luz selected one of the instruments, lifting it to her mouth to try. It made a tinny sound, not one that Amity had heard before. Luz’s face lit up in a grin when she finished. “I’ll take this.” She said to the stand owner, and asked what the price was.

It was surprisingly reasonable, so Luz bought it on the spot.

Amity looked around for a few more minutes, but she knew she wasn’t going to buy an instrument. She and Luz soon left the stall, walking through the market. While they walked, Luz played her new instrument.

“This is just like a kazoo!” Luz said as she examined it, bringing it close to her eyes.

“What’s a kazoo?” Amity had never heard of them; it must’ve been a human object.

“Err.” Luz’s smile dipped as she tried to think of an explanation. “You like, hum into it, and it makes cool sounds.”

“Sounds fun.” Maybe that was an instrument Amity would be able to play.

“It is!” Luz lifted her instrument towards the sky. “When I get good at this, I’ll figure out how to cast bard magic. It’s gonna be great!”

Amity believed her.

The two soon parted ways, each heading to their respective homes.

Amity wondered what Eda would think about the instrument, and how long it would last in the owl house before being in danger of destruction.


	21. Day 18 - Emira

Another day, another job. Things at the Illusion Coven were business as usual.

Emira was walking with Jen to the market, where they’d been assigned a job for the day. It was unusual since it was a full day job. Usually, Emira had been doing this long enough now to say that, they only spent half a day at most doing one job.

“What’s the fourth layer for the fireworks spell?” Emira asked while they travelled. Since she was getting better at casting the first three together, she wanted to add the fourth.

“That was fast.” Jen commented, sounding more impressed than judgmental. “The fourth layer sharpens the image.” She stepped off the sidewalk to demonstrate, drawing a medium sized magic circle in the air. Emira joined her off the path. “Look over at the school.” Jen instructed as the spell activated.

Emira did so, turning to look at the school. It was about half a mile away, but as one of the tallest buildings in town it could still be seen towering over the rest of Bonesborough. Interestingly, the side of the building looked focused, much more than it should’ve at this distance. That must’ve been the spell.

The effect was similar to one of the spells Emira used when she first tried to build the fireworks spell, but it was applied differently and had a different visual effect.

“Interesting.” Emira mused as she looked through the spell. Jen kept it up for a minute, before dissolving it so they could keep walking.

“It’s tricky to get in the right spot.” Jen said as they started moving. “You have to place it based on where the audience is.”

Emira nodded. “That makes sense.” She thought through the spell as she followed, miming casting it without actually doing so. It seemed difficult by itself, let alone with the other three spells already up. The one Emira had used before to amplify was easier.

She would make sure to practice it later, on its own first before trying to add it to the fireworks spell. She was confident that she’d be able to cast it.

After another few minutes of walking, they reached their destination. It was a market stand, one selling a variety of goods. They looked to be magical items and accessories.

After exchanging greetings with the owner, Jen inquired as to what he wanted them to do.

“I’ve been having trouble drawing in customers lately.” He admitted, wringing his hands together. “I’d like some bright signs to bring witches to my stand.”

Jen nodded a couple times, “We can do that for sure.” She offered him a reassuring smile.

He thanked them for their help, shaking Jen’s hand profusely. Once free, Jen stepped away from the stand and gestured for Emira to join her.

“Here’s the plan.” Jen said, casting a small illusion version of the wing of the market they were in. She liked to do that to visualize the setup. “I’ll take the big sign.” A tiny version of her appeared in front of the stand, casting a mini sign spell in front of it. “You’ll make a couple small ones nearby.” A little Emira illusion appeared as well, casting smaller sign spells.

A week ago, Emira would’ve just gone along with that plan. She had long given up on trying to do more at this internship. Now though, after putting together a new spell and after watching the way Jen did things, Emira was ready to try again. Jen would probably say no, but it was worth a shot.

“Can I take the larger sign?” Emira asked, casting a small illusion to swap her and Jen in the miniature version.

Jen looked up at Emira, brown eyes widening minutely in surprise before narrowing slightly. Again, like she had many times with Jen, Emira felt like she was being seen through.

Jen thought about it for a moment, though Emira couldn’t tell what she was thinking just by looking at her.

Finally, Jen replied. “You can, if you want.” Her expression softened, lips curving in a smile. “You’ve done good work so far; I believe you can handle this.”

It wasn’t a glowing complement, but it was still praise and approval. It was nice to know that she trusted her skills; Emira couldn’t help but smile back. “Thank you.” Emira was glad she asked, and excited to take the lead. “I won’t let you down.”

“I’m confident that you won’t.” Jen dissipated the mini market model. “I’m going to look around at the market to try and find the best spots for the smaller posters. Let me know if you need anything.” She wasn’t going to stay and watch then.

If anything, that was a bigger sign of trust than allowing Emira to do the job.

“I will.” Emira watched Jen leave, and waited until she turned the corner to start working.

Emira looked back at the stand, bringing a hand to her chin as she thought about the best way to advertise for it. The sign would need to be large, so it could be seen from farther away. It would also need lights and some effects to make it pop.

She could do it with a few layers, though that would mean she’d have to stand there all day and maintain it. That was fine; she was up for the task.

Emira started with the base spell, which would create the physical sign. She made it intangible, since nobody would be trying to touch it. It was large and appeared above the stand, where it would be more visible. The lettering on it gave the name of the stand, along with a slogan the owner had shared with them.

Next, Emira added a couple layers to the spell. The first was a light spell, so that the letters on the board would light up. The letters alternated colors, with some being blue and some being red. This made them much more visible from a distance. The second spell she layered in was a screen shimmer spell, similar to the one that challenged her with the fireworks. This made the whole sign stand out, bringing the look together.

Emira would’ve added more layers, but she didn’t feel comfortable holding an additional one for a long period of time. Regardless, she thought the sign looked pretty eye catching with the three.

She asked the shop owner to come out and look at it, to make sure it was what he wanted. He stepped out from the stall and gasped loudly when he looked up, which was exactly the reaction she was going for.

“It’s amazing!” He said, eyes locked onto the sign.

“Thank you.” Emira accepted the compliment. “I’ll keep it up all day, though I’ll have to stay nearby to do so.”

“Wonderful.” The owner seemed far more chipper than earlier as he returned to his stand.

Emira found a place to sit nearby, where she could maintain the spells and watch the stand. She didn’t have to wait long for a customer to walk up, with their eyes cast up towards the bright sign.

They talked briefly with the stall owner before buying something, then moved on to the rest of the market.

This went on for the next few hours, with customers filtering past the stall. Some commented on the sign, complementing it. Emira celebrated a small victory in those moments.

Jen came back after a while, having put up signs around the area. She spent a few long minutes looking at the sign Emira made, before joining her sitting near the stall. They chatted about the components of the spell and how Emira picked them.

Jen suggested that an easier third layer would be to make it more translucent. That way she could free up some magic power for an additional layer or to complicate one of the first two. Emira thought that was a good idea, something to try next time for sure.

The two ate lunch there, next to the stall, and stayed there for the rest of the day.

By the end of the day, Emira could feel that her magic was a bit fried and close to empty. She didn’t often maintain complex spells like this for long periods of time, which was taxing to do. When the market closed for the day she was able to drop the spells, bringing a sense of relief over her.

The stall owner again thanked them after and praised their work again. He said a lot more customers had stopped by today because they saw the signs.

Emira walked back to the coven with Jen, much more tired than she had been that morning. It was a good tired though, tired after a solid day’s work.

“You did well today.” Jen said as they neared the coven. “Especially with the layered magic.”

Maybe now was the time to be humble. “I’ve been working hard at it.” Emira replied.

“Well, next week is your last week here.” Jen continued speaking. “If you want to take the lead more often, just let me know.”

Emira planned to take her up on that. “I will.”


	22. Day 19 - Edric

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is longer than usual and contains non graphic violence.

As usual, Edric was walking with Frederick to go see the dispatcher. They would probably be sent on patrol today, since they spent most of the week training. Edric had the wood sword on his belt, as required by Frederick. He had tried to ditch it that morning, dropping it in the training hall before meeting up, but Frederick noticed and made him fetch it.

Now they were going to get their orders for the day. As usual, Frederick opened the door and entered once they arrived. Edric followed him in.

Unusually, the dispatcher was already talking to someone when they stepped in. He had his back to the door, and was looking at a small object mounted on the back wall. Edric couldn’t see it clearly without getting closer. The dispatcher was speaking to it in a confused tone, arms crossed over his chest.

“What’s with these orders?” He was asking the device. “This isn’t right.”

“You dare question orders from the Emperor?” That voice, high pitched and tinny through the device, that was a voice Edric knew. He had met her in this very building, on his first day of the internship. Kikimora sounded irritated, her voice carrying the sharp hint of a threat.

The dispatcher immediately recanted, bowing his head forward. “No, I’m not. I apologize.” Edric wondered what orders they were talking about; this was suspicious activity.

“Good.” Kikimora still didn’t sound pleased. “Now, you have visitors to attend to.”

The dispatcher looked over his shoulder, then quickly turned to face them. As he turned, Edric could see that the device behind him was a small mirror. It was empty now, but presumably had Kikimora’s image in it just a moment before.

“Sir, I apologize for keeping you waiting.” The dispatcher hurried back to his chair, sitting down and inspecting the papers on his desk.

Frederick didn’t comment on it. “Where are we headed today?” He got right to business.

“Let’s see.” The dispatcher picked up a piece of paper off the top. “You’re headed to the construction site on the west side of Bonesborough. One of the workers needs to be brought in for questioning. He’s suspected of murder, so be careful.” The dispatcher held the paper out to hand it to Frederick. “Here’s his profile.”

Frederick reached for it slowly, showing unexpected hesitance. “We’ll bring him in.” He said, looking down at the paper.

“You’ve been assigned a vehicle for transportation.” The dispatcher walked over to one of the walls, where he grabbed a set of keys off a rack. “Van number 2.” He said as he handed the keys to Frederick.

“Can I drive?” Edric asked with a smirk.

“No.” Frederick replied curtly as he turned to leave the room. Edric had expected that response, but he still felt disappointed.

They left the dispatcher’s office, walking towards the front of the jail. Edric still hadn’t seen where the vehicles were kept, so this was something new. The prospect of not having to walk was an exciting one; walking all day was one of his least favorite parts of this internship.

As it turned out, the cars were not stored in the Emperor’s Coven wing. Edric followed Frederick out and through the lobby, entering the other part of the jail. He hadn’t been back here before, but didn’t have time now to look around.

They weaved through a few hallways, until they emerged into a large garage like space. There were three vans inside, all labeled with a large number on the side.

Frederick approached van number 2, using the keys to unlock the passenger seat door before going to the driver’s side. Edric assumed that passenger door was for him, so he opened it and climbed in.

The inside of the van wasn’t anything special. There was just enough room for Edric’s legs so he didn’t feel cramped. The dash was a boring grey, not exciting at all. When he turned around, Edric could see that there was a barricade behind the front seats. He could see through a small vent that there were two benches lining the sides in the rear. The van was super plain; Edric had been hoping for more pizazz.

Frederick climbed in the driver side and used the key to start the vehicle. He placed the paper, which he’d carried all the way from the dispatcher’s office, onto the center module. The engine turned over a few times before roaring to life. Frederick then cast a spell to lift a large pull up door, which opened up to the street.

He drove the van out of the garage and cast the same spell to shut the door behind them. With that, they were on their way.

It wasn’t too far to the construction site in question, especially with a vehicle to get them there. Edric stared out the window and watched the world flash by. He almost never got to ride in one of these, as they were quite rare. They took a lot of stored magic to run too, so only the Emperor’s Coven used them on a regular basis.

“Take a look at the profile before we get there.” Frederick kept his eyes locked on the road as he spoke. Edric grabbed the paper to read it over.

The suspect was wanted for the murder of one of his cousins. The body had been found in a ditch last week. Cause of death was blunt trauma. Edric was glad that there wasn’t a picture. The forensic evidence pointed to a family member. Eye witness accounts had seen the suspect with the victim not long before he vanished. They were just bringing him in for question, but it all added up to a very suspicious image.

This seemed like a dangerous job, but Edric was sure Frederick could handle it if things got dicey.

Soon they reached the construction site. Frederick parked the van near the entrance and the two climbed out. Once Frederick had locked the doors, the walked in. There were a few warning signs about wearing a hard hat; Edric wondered if this was the same construction site that Em had gone to a couple weeks ago.

Whatever they were building was coming along well. The framework of a building was up, along with scaffolding to aid in reaching the upper levels. Construction witches were standing on various parts, working on building the structure.

Much to Edric’s surprise, he saw two familiar figures standing to the side of the construction site. Luz and Amity, the last two witches he expected to find here, were looking around at the building in progress.

Frederick didn’t pay them any mind as he walked straight to the foreman, a witch wearing a bright orange vest and carrying a clipboard. Edric parted from him, just for the moment, to go talk to them.

“Amity, Luz!” He called over to them.

Amity’s eyes widened as they jumped to him. “Edric?” She said his name as a question. Oh right, he was wearing a mask.

Edric stopped in front of them. “Yup.” He lifted his mask to show them his face. “It’s me.” He pushed down his hood and left the mask sitting on top of his head. It was a lot easier to talk like this.

“Hi Edric!” Luz waved enthusiastically.

Amity was frowning. “What are you doing here?” She was less enthused to see him.

Edric raised one eyebrow. “I should be asking you that.”

“We’re visiting the Construction Coven.” Luz answered the implied question, waving one hand to gesture at the whole construction site.

Amity nodded in agreement. “Em mentioned that there was a site here, so we wanted to check it out.”

“Why though?” Edric asked, looking for more details. He remembered that Amity had wanted to see the Emperor’s Coven and the Illusion Coven, but he thought that was just because her awesome older siblings were interning there.

Amity’s cheeks gained a pink tint as she cast her eyes away. “We’ve been learning about different covens, trying to figure out which one to join.” Oh, that was a much more logical explanation for her recent behavior.

“This one is cool too.” Luz had turned away to watch a construction witch hammer a joint together. “I love them all.”

“It’s a tough choice.” Edric commiserated. He had been forced into the Emperor’s Coven for the internship, when what he really wanted was to go to the Illusion Coven. It would be harder to know what he wanted if he liked or hated them both.

“Edric!” Frederick was calling for him, from over by the foreman. “Come here.”

“I gotta go.” Edric started walking backwards that way. “Watch out for falling objects.” Luz and Amity waved goodbye as he slid his mask back over his face, spinning to walk forwards.

“Do you know them?” Frederick asked as Edric reached him.

“That’s my sister and one of her friends.”

“Oh, I’ll have to introduce myself before we go.” Frederick was looking in their direction, though they were too far away to see well.

“If you want.” Edric shrugged. Amity would probably love to meet a patrol witch from the Emperor’s Coven.

Frederick nodded, and then turned to the foreman. “We’re ready now.” He said.

The foreman looked up at the half built building and called out, “Victor, these Emperor’s Coven witches want to speak with you.” Up in the building, on the third level, one of the construction witches froze in place. He turned slowly to look at them. He matched the description on the profile.

Edric expected him to climb down to talk with them, but instead he did the opposite. He turned and started to run, picking up speed towards the edge of the building.

Frederick was too fast though. He cast a quick spell that made him disappear and reappear up on top of the construction rig, right in the suspect’s path. The suspect was forced to stop running, and started firing spells at Fredrick.

Edric snapped himself out of staring and ran to one of the other corners of the structure. He started climbing the scaffolding to try and get up there to help. It took a lot of effort, and by the time he reached the level he was out of breath.

He had come up the right corner though, and saw that the suspect was now between him and Frederick. Edric even drew his wood sword, in case he needed to defend himself.

The suspect noticed his arrival, and turned to face him instead. He shot a fire spell his way, which Edric ducked to dodge. He had to be careful up here; a nasty fall could come with any misstep.

Now the suspect lunged towards Edric, with a small object in his hands. It looked to be a hammer of some kind, perhaps the blunt weapon used to commit the murder. All of the practice with the sword paid off, as Edric was barely able to block and deflect the blow. The suspect skittered back to the middle, where he dodged a spell from Frederick.

The suspect looked back and forth between them, and then dropped down off the beam. He landed on the ground roughly, knocking over one of the other construction members in his haste. Edric cursed that he had just climbed all the way up there just to have to climb back down.

The suspect started to run again, but found himself blocked by an abomination. Amity had cast one from the side, again stopping the suspect in his tracks. He fired a spell at it and tried to dodge around it, but an ice pillar from Luz again halted him.

This distraction had given Frederick the time he needed to reach the ground. He drew a sword, a real steel sword, and approached the suspect. The witch’s eyes were wide with desperation, but there was nowhere else to run.

He tried one last fire spell on Frederick, but he dodged past it to knock him out with the hilt of his sword. The suspect collapsed to the ground, unconscious. Frederick leaned over to handcuff him, finalizing an arrest.

Edric finally got his feet back on the ground as Luz and Amity ran over.

“Good job stopping him.” Edric said to them, glancing them over to make sure they hadn’t been hurt.

“This is a pretty dangerous internship.” Amity commented dryly in reply.

Luz was still excited though. “We did great! Three cheers for teamwork!” She cheered all on her own. Edric was too tired and prideful to join in.

Frederick had picked up the suspect and was now carrying him. He approached the three teens. “Thanks for your help kids. Couldn’t have done it without you.” Edric knew he was strong, but it still surprised him to see Fredrick carrying a witch under just one arm.

“Happy to help.” Amity was smiling, looking at Frederick with wide eyed admiration.

“Let’s go Edric, we have to escort the suspect back to base.” Frederick shifted his grip on the suspect; perhaps he wasn’t as easy to carry as Frederick made it look.

“I’m coming.” Edric quickly said goodbye to Luz and Amity, then followed Frederick back to the van.

Frederick unlocked the back door, opening it to reveal the space Edric had seen from the front. He stepped and laid the suspect on the ground, before locking him inside. He then unlocked the front doors of the van so the pair could get inside, and soon they were driving back towards the jail.

They rode in silence for a few minutes. Frederick’s hands were tense on the wheel, Edric watched out of the corner of his eye as they tightened and loosened. The left arm of Frederick’s shirt was singed, the skin below it bright red.

Finally, Frederick spoke. “Good work with the sword today.” That wasn’t quite what Edric was expecting. “Your block was excellent.” He paused between sentences, as if he were choosing his words carefully.

“I had a good teacher.” Edric said that only partly as a joke. He didn’t really like this moody Frederick.

Frederick chuckled, the sound low and forced. “I still have a lot more to teach you.”

Silence returned to the van, remaining for the rest of the drive.

When they arrived at the jail, they pulled back into the garage. Frederick fetched the suspect and released him to another coven member. He explained that he had tried to run and been aggressive, and said a full written report would be coming later.

Frederick then told Edric to come with him, and they headed back into the Emperor’s Coven wing of the building. When they reached the intersection, Edric expected Frederick to turn towards the locker room. He didn’t.

Frederick turned down the hallway that led to the dispatcher. He was walking quickly, hands tense at his sides. When he reached the dispatchers office, he opened the door without knocking.

As Edric entered behind him, he watched as Fredrick practically slammed the van keys down on the dispatcher’s table.

“I don’t know what you’re playing at, but it has to stop.” Frederick spoke in a low, threatening tone.

The dispatcher looked him over, pausing on his arm before looking over at Edric. “What do you mean?” He asked, though his tone was weak as if he already knew.

“Sending the intern on such dangerous work. Lilith never would’ve tolerated that, and neither will I.” Frederick leaned over the dispatcher as he spoke. It did seem like they were arguing now about his presence on the arrest today, but Edric’s interest was more piqued at the name; Lilith had been the previous coven leader.

“As far as I’m aware, today’s orders came from the Emperor.” The dispatcher rose to his feet, his voice stronger than before.

Edric wondered how true that statement was; it didn’t seem likely that the Emperor would have time for little things like assigning coven members to make arrests.

Frederick seemed to believe it, since he sighed and pulled back, taking half a step away. “I see. I apologize.” He spun on one heel and Edric wished he could see his face.

The dispatcher didn’t say anything as they left his office.

Frederick led the way across the building, this time actually going to the locker room. Usually Edric would part from him there, but today he followed him in. The witch was still acting strangely.

Once inside, Frederick sat down on one of the benches and took off his mask. He looked somber, a prominent frown on his face. He brought one hand up to cast a healing spell, finally starting to heal his burn.

“I’ll take the sword home and train over the weekend.” Edric broke the silence, placing a hand on the hilt of the wood sword. It wasn’t entirely a lie.

Frederick’s frown softened slightly. “Good.”

Edric soon left, lost in thought as he walked home. Today had been strange, very strange. He wondered what was going on behind the scenes.

Perhaps he could find out.


	23. Day 20 - Amity

After the eventful day at the construction coven, Amity made plans to come visit Luz at the Owl House on Saturday. Luz had somehow convinced Eda to show them some magic, since she had been on the potions track at Hexside. According to Luz, she loved to show off and had been eager to accept.

This led to Amity walking on a cloudy Saturday morning to the Owl House. She was very interested in learning about potions, but not so excited about seeing the house demon that possessed the building. Almost everything about it was obnoxious.

But even as it called out a cheery “Hooty hoot!” greeting, Amity didn’t regret coming.

The demon let her inside when she said she was there to see Luz, which was lucky because she already felt like punching it. The inside of the house looked the same as she remembered it, with candles lining the room and familiar furniture.

One big difference though was the presence of Lilith. She was sitting on the couch, looking over some kind of magazine. She had a new grey streak in her hair; Luz told Amity it was an effect of the spell she cast to save Eda. Amity hadn’t spoken to her in some time, perhaps since the Covention? Lilith used to train her, but they weren’t particularly close.

That didn’t stop this from being awkward.

Lilith glanced up at the sound of the door opening, a flicker of surprise appearing briefly on her face. “Hello, Amity.” She greeted her politely.

“Hi.” Amity wasn’t sure what to say to her. She knew she was living here now, but even before when they had the Emperor’s Coven in common they hadn’t had much to say to each other. “It’s good to see you.” Was what she settled on, wincing internally at how stiff that sounded.

Luckily, Luz always had great timing.

“Hey Amity!” She poked her head in from the other room, which Amity thought was the kitchen. “We’re in here.” Luz waved her over, blissfully saving her from having to talk more with Lilith.

“Thanks for inviting me.” Amity said as she walked to join Luz.

Luz flopped her hand in an exaggerated dismissive motion. “Anytime.”

When Amity entered the kitchen, she glanced around. It looked like a pretty normal kitchen, nothing too outrageous. Eda was already there, leaning on one of the counters. King sat on the countertop next to her, chewing on a small object.

“Oh good, the whole party’s here now.” Eda said in a dry tone. She was so different from her sister; it was always confusing to Amity that they could be related.

Luz gave an enthusiastic thumb up. “That’s right! Are you ready to show us how to make a potion?”

“You were serious about that?” Eda grimaced, crossing her arms. “Wouldn’t you rather learn about bad girl coven magic?” She raised her eyebrows suggestively.

“What’s that?” Amity asked; she had never heard of the bad girl coven. It sounded fake.

Eda pointed one thumb at her own chest. “Only the best coven on the Boiling Isles, founded by yours truly.” Oh, so just covenless witches then.

“No thanks.” Luz cut her off flatly. “But we really want to learn about the Potions Coven!”

“I could show them instead.” A familiar voice came from behind the group, echoing from the doorway. Amity turned to see Lilith there, a smirk on her face. “I was in the potions track too, you know.”

“No no, I’ve got this.” Eda scoffed, moving to grab a pot for the potion.

Lilith chuckled, still looking smug. “If you say so. I’ll be in the other room if you need me.” She waved over her shoulder, then vanished back to the main room of the house.

Eda sneered after her, before continuing to prepare. “What kind of potion do you want?” She asked, looking between Luz and Amity. “A love potion?” Her eyes twinkled mischievously, with a smirk appearing not dissimilar from her sister’s.

Amity thought her heart could stop at that suggestion. Her face immediately warmed, even more so when Eda raised an eyebrow at her.

“Hmm, that would be hard to test.” Luz seemed unbothered by the suggestion, and didn’t seem to have noticed Amity’s flustered state.

Eda rolled her eyes. “Fine, fine, how about item duplication then?”

“Perfect!” Luz’s eyes lit up as she nodded. Amity tried to calm herself back down and to keep Luz from noticing.

With the potion choice settled, Eda picked a pot to make it in. “Always choose the right pot for the potion.” She said as she settled on a medium size one. She finally seemed to be taking this whole giving instruction thing seriously. “Too small and it’ll overflow, too big and the ingredients won’t blend properly.”

“Oh yeah, I learned about that in class.” Luz commented, moving to look into the empty pot.

“The pot material can be important too, but not for every potion.” Eda went to the pantry and started to take out ingredients. “The one we’re making today is tame, but some will eat straight through unprotected metal.” That was kind of a scary prospect.

Eda walked away from the pantry with an arm full of vials, stopping in front of the counter. “King, you gotta move.” She gestured at him with her free hand.

“But I’m sitting here.” He took the small object out of his mouth to protest. Now Amity could see that it was a small yellow duck.

Eda glared down at him. “I need the space, so get lost.”

King stood up on his tiny back paws slowly, putting the duck back in his mouth. He squeaked grumpily as he jumped off the counter, headed to the main room of the house.

Eda was now able to put down the vials, which she did with gusto. “Always measure the ingredients carefully.” She said, as if she hadn’t paused in the instructions, while picking up a vial to add it to the pot. “Don’t add heat until you’re supposed to, that’s how things explode.” She winked at the end, drawing a laugh from Luz.

“Are you not using a recipe?” Amity asked as Eda added another ingredient to the pot.

“Got this one memorized.” Eda replied, not looking away from her potion. “When you make it enough times, it becomes habit.” If it were Amity, she would probably still have the recipe out for reference.

“Do you know what they do at the Potions Coven?” Luz asked, causing Eda to pause mid pour.

“Not a thing.” She admitted, before continuing to dump an ingredient in. She grimaced, as if the next words were hard to say. “Lily might be able to tell you more about that.”

“Oh?” Again, from the door, Lilith’s voice rang out. “What was that Edalyn, I didn’t hear you.”

“Just ask her.” Eda addressed the kids. She turned on the burner on the stove and put her pot onto it. “I’ll just keep making this potion, abandoned, alone.”

Lilith entered the room fully, coming to stand near them. “You asked about the Potion Coven?” She asked Luz, likely wanting to make sure she heard right.

“That’s right!” Luz responded.

“We’ve been learning about different covens.” Amity explained, drawing Lilith’s gaze to her sharply. She could feel the question, what happened to the Emperor’s Coven, in those eyes. But Lilith didn’t ask it.

“The potions coven provides facilities and licenses to coven members.” Lilith said, shifting her gaze over to Luz. “They also get discounts on materials.”

“Does the coven itself sell potions?” Luz looked thoughtful as she asked.

Lilith shook her head, “No, individual members are responsible for that.”

Luz hit the bottom of one fist into her hand. “So Eda has a similar job then, she sells her own potions too!” Amity hadn’t thought about it like that; she always associated Eda with being as far from coven life as she could. Even Eda looked surprised at the assertion.

“I suppose so.” Lilith seemed to be rolling the idea around in her mind. “She does sell potions, though not as high quality as the coven requires.”

“Well excuse me for not meeting your nonsense standards.” Eda scowled down at her potion, motioning to again shoo Lilith away with one hand. Her sister didn’t move.

Eda had been adding more ingredients through the conversation, occasionally stirring the pot. “The potion is almost done.” She declared, lifting one hand over it. “Here’s the most important step.” She drew a small spell circle over it, slowly. It looked painful for her to do. Luz had also told Amity that most of Eda’s magic was gone, but it still felt strange to see it herself. “Without the spell it’s just slime.”

She picked up an empty bottle, dipping it into the potion. When it made contact, it duplicated. Eda brought both the original and copy out to show Luz and Amity.

“You need to make sure to use a duplication proof bottle for this type of spell.” Eda put aside the original and set the new bottle where she could fill it. “Like something that’s already a duplication. It only works on inanimate objects.” She then lifted the pot and tilted the potion into it, filling the bottle to the top. She then put a cork in the top and smacked a label on it, marking it with her brand. She held it out to Luz, who accepted it.

“The second part of the job, the harder part in my opinion, is actually selling the things.” Eda continued speaking, picking up where Lilith had left off in talking about the job of potion making. “Not gonna lie, Luz has gotten pretty good at it.” Amity was impressed by that.

“Oh, yeah!” Luz grinned, setting the potion down on the table. “I sell potions for Eda all the time.”

“In the market?” Amity asked.

“Yeah, and I go door to door.” Luz looked up like she was remembering something. “It’s fun, trying to figure out what’s the best potion for a customer.”

It made sense that Luz would be good at that; if she could hold a conversation with Amity then she could talk with just about anybody. Amity, on the other hand would be better at making potions than selling them. The idea struck her that if she and Luz went into business together, they’d probably be very good at the job if they split up the work.

Amity couldn’t imagine dedicating her whole life to it, but it was an interesting path.

“You don’t need the coven though.” Eda put one hand on her hip. “It’s all cons and no pros.”

“I disagree.” Lilith cut back in to the conversation. “The coven provides stability and resources. Also being covenless is illegal, which I’m sure you know well, Edalyn.”

“Aren’t you covenless now too, Lily?”

“Touché.” Lilith muttered and looked down towards the ground. Amity felt out of place, like she was watching something she shouldn’t see. She was reminded of when her siblings fought.

Eda was smirking as she turned back to Luz. “You can keep that.” She gestured at the potion on the table, turning the topic back to potion making.

“Thanks Eda!” Luz picked it back up, scrutinizing it once again. “What should we duplicate first?” She turned to Amity with the question.

The answer came easily. “Azura books.”

“Yes.” Luz replied simply, eyes bright with excitement. “I have mine upstairs, let’s do it.”

Amity followed after her, but not before thanking Eda for showing them how the make the potion. She replied that it was no problem, and she should follow Luz before the girl duplicated everything upstairs.

Both Lillith and Eda watched her go.

Upstairs, Amity and Luz chose the first Azura book as their target. The potion did indeed duplicate it, just as expected.


	24. Day 19-20 - Emira

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter marks the end of what would be the second arc.

It was Friday night, and Emira planned to sleep in tomorrow. She was currently working on her illusion magic, touching up on spells she’d been neglecting for the firework spell.

The most important of those was an invisibility spell. The layers of it had to be just right, or being invisible turned into being very easy to spot. She was practicing outside in the dark, using a light spell to cast a shadow. She could look to see if it was completely gone or not, while the spell was cast. The set of spells she had been using still left a hint of a shadow, so she wanted to work on improving it.

That was easier said than done, as the shadow was turning out to be quite persistent.

Emira had been working on it for a while when something at the house grabbed her attention. One of the upstairs windows had been opened, and a paper airplane came flying out of it.

It flew in a steady trajectory directly towards Emira. She raised a hand to catch it; it was light and empty. She unfolded it and saw that there was a note. It said, “attic, 5 min” in Ed’s scrawled handwriting. After she looked at it for a moment, it burst into a puff of magic smoke.

Edric had seemed put off when she talked to him earlier, and said it was a long day. It seemed like she would get more details now.

Emira deactivated her light spell and walked back into the house. She passed by where her parents were in the study, declining to speak with them, and headed up towards the attic.

Ed was already there when she climbed up. He had changed out of his Emperor’s Coven uniform and was wearing his casual outfit. He looked at the attic wall while he waited for her, sitting on a box that could barely hold his weight.

“You called?” Emira grabbed his attention as she shut the attic hatch.

And then Ed told her the story of what happened that day. He told her about how strangely the dispatcher was acting that morning, how he was sent with Frederick to bring a dangerous witch in for questioning, how Luz and Amity had been at the construction site, and how they had fought with the suspect. He mimed holding the sword in defense as he recounted the battle.

“It was so weird, after.” He mimed putting the fake sword back on his belt. “Frederick’s arm got burned, but he didn’t heal it until way later.”

“What’s wrong with that?” Emira didn’t know enough about Frederick to cast judgement.

Ed explained, a slight frown on his face. “He specializes in healing, it would’ve taken him like 60 seconds to take care of it.” He crossed his arms, slouching against the box once again. “But no, he was so focused on going to yell at the dispatcher that he didn’t.”

“What did he say?”

“That the job was too dangerous.” Ed shrugged. “Which, yeah I guess it was.”

He didn’t seem too committed to that notion, but Emira agreed with Frederick. “The suspect was armed; I’d say that’s pretty dangerous.” She wondered if it was more dangerous than the slitherbeast they had fought at The Knee.

“Yeah…” Ed’s voice trailed off and he looked down at his hands as he thought. Emira waited for a moment, allowing him to process. “He said the order came from the Emperor, but I really doubt that. So, here’s what I’m thinking.” He looked up at Emira and continued speaking. “There’s something weird going on, and I need to know what it is.”

A smile crept onto Emira’s face. “Time to snoop then?” She asked, already knowing where Ed was going with this.

Despite often cutting class, the Blight twins were no slouches when something needed to be done.

Ed’s smile mirrored hers. “You know it.” He straightened up, brushing off the back of his pants.

They started to make their plans, when and how to investigate. They settled on the next day, a Saturday. They would figure out what was going on in the Emperor’s Coven.

Emira had a couple things she needed to do to prepare before the event.

* * *

Emira slept in the next morning, as she always did on Saturday. Sure, she needed to get ready, but she had plenty of time to do it.

She had one spell to practice for today, an illusion to make her look like an Emperor’s Coven member. Edric had created a photo for her to model it after, an image Frederick. Emira would try to match it perfectly, so she could enter without facing resistance.

She practiced it during the day, and was able to replicate the look with just one spell. It even made her look taller, to match Frederick’s height. The spell was intangible, so it wouldn’t hold up under contact, but it would do just fine for some sneaking.

They waited until the evening to go, when there wouldn’t be as many coven members in the building. It was easy to get out of the house; nobody cared what they did on the weekends.

The twins arrived at the jail as the sun was setting over the horizon. Ed was wearing his coven uniform, so he didn’t need a spell to blend in. They stopped out of sight of the jail to finalize their plans.

“Just follow me once we’re inside.” Ed had spent his day drawing a small map of the building. He had labeled a couple locations with stars, which were the places he wanted to investigate. “We’ll stop at the dispatcher’s office first.”

“Did you really spend all day on this?” Emira squinted at the hand drawn map.

“Isn’t it great?” Ed ran a finger over his creation, showing the route.

Emira didn’t quite agree. “It’s fine I guess.” She drew a spell circle, casting the illusion spell necessary for sneaking in.

Ed nodded at her as it took effect. “Lookin’ good.” He said approvingly. “Just don’t say anything and no one will notice.”

Emira gave a mock salute, and then they set off towards the building. Ed led the way into the lobby, then through the Emperor’s Coven door. The lobby was empty except for one clerk, who didn’t so much as glance at the two as they passed by.

Once in the wing, they passed the offices and walked to the dispatcher’s office. Emira had to admit, the map Ed drew was pretty good. He had drawn the right number of offices in the hallway.

When the reached the dispatcher’s office, Edric knocked on the door. As expected, there was no answer. He tried to open the door, but it wouldn’t budge.

“Locked.” He muttered, bringing his hand up to cast a spell. After a spin of one finger he tried again, successfully pushing the door open. “Bingo.”

They entered the room, both casting a light spell to help in their search. Ed went over to the desk and started ruffling through the papers on it. There were papers scattered across the surface, a very messy display.

“What exactly are we looking for?” Emira asked, figuring it was safe to talk for the moment.

Ed didn’t bother to look up as he replied. “Anything out of the ordinary.” That wasn’t terribly helpful.

Emira walked the outside of the room, trying to find anything that matched that description. There were closets full of palisman staffs, various weaponry, and what looked like car keys. None of those things struck Emira as abnormal.

She joined Ed at the table, where he had flipped through a number of the papers. Emira picked one of them up and read it over. It looked to be some kind of criminal profile, listing details and the last known location of a suspect. The next page had a schedule that was full of names. Emira handed it to Edric, to see if that helped.

“This is from last week.” He said as he looked it over. “Wherever you see Anderson on these, that’s Frederick and I.” He dropped it back on the table, leaving it behind.

They looked for a while longer, but it all looked normal to Emira. Profiles, schedules, and a few flyers littered the table. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary to her.

“I’ve got nothing.” Ed admitted after flipping through nearly every page on the table.

“Same here.” Emira stepped back from the table. “Should we keep looking?”

“Yeah let’s go.” Ed ruffled the papers one last time, trying to return them to the same level of disarray as before. He led the way back to the door, and when they exited he cast a spell to relock it.

They walked back towards the offices; he had marked Kikimora’s office on his map. If they were to find anything, that was a good second place to look.

They hadn’t counted on Kikimora actually being there. When they neared her office, they could see that not only was the door shut, but light was coming out from underneath it.

“She’s never here.” Ed whispered, gesturing for Emira to come closer to him. “Can you make us invisible?”

Emira nodded, and started to cast the spells. It was harder with two people, but she could do it by casting more powerful versions of the usual layers. She even implemented the layer she was working on yesterday.

While she did so, Ed was activating a spell of his own. He cast a spell on the door, which made it so they could hear what was happening on the other side.

Much to their surprise, Kikimora’s voice wasn’t the only one present. A male voice was with her, one Emira didn’t recognize.

“Isn’t it about time to finalize my promotion?” The male voice sounded agitated.

“That’s a patrol witch, Nick, I think.” Ed whispered, quietly as not to be heard by those inside. Emira wondered what kind of promotion he wanted.

“Finalize? How presumptuous.” Kikimora’s voice was scathing. Both voices were clear and easy to understand through the spell Ed had cast.

“The role of coven leader has been left empty long enough.” Nick countered with a hard tone.

Kikimora tutted at him. “That is the Emperor’s decision to make.”

“Well it’s time for him to make one! Despite all of the secrecy, I’ve been doing a great job running things.” Nick’s composure was slipping, the volume of his voice rising.

“I’m not so sure.” Kikimora, on the other hand, maintained a level tone. “The dispatcher was complaining about your orders the other day.”

“He doesn’t have the authority to…” Nick’s voice cut off mid sentence.

“And, you have yet to recapture the Owl Lady.” Kikimora had cut him off, lobbying another criticism his way. Emira didn’t know much about the Owl Lady, besides the fact she was teaching Luz magic and had recently escaped from being turned to stone. “Let alone Lilith.”

“I have my best officers working on it.”

“With no results. The Emperor was right to put you on a probationary period. He is still considering others for the role of coven leader. If you want it, you’ll have to earn it.” Kikimora was starting to sound irritated with him.

Nick’s response came after a pause. “Yes Ma’am.” He finally said, voice much quieter than before.

The sound of footsteps moved quickly towards the door. Emira stepped quickly out of its path before it opened, barely avoiding getting smashed in the shoulder. A man dressed in the coven uniform stepped out and shut the door behind him, his face concealed by the mask. He turned down the hallway, luckily away from where Emira and Ed were hiding, and walked away. His steps were short and tense.

He disappeared into another office, leaving the twins again alone in the hallway. Emira double checked that he was gone, and then dropped the invisibility spell. Once it was down, Ed signaled for her to follow him towards the exit. They tried to maintain a casual pace as they left the wing and crossed the lobby. The same member was there as before, still not paying them any mind.

Once they were outside Emira allowed herself to walk a little faster, to work through the jitters she’d developed while trying to avoid being noticed. She dropped the final illusion spell once they were far enough away from the jail, the coven member façade melting away.

“I knew it wasn’t the Emperor.” Ed started the conversation, bringing up what he’d mentioned earlier.

“That guy, is he important?” Emira knew very little about the coven structure at the Illusion Coven, let alone the Emperor’s Coven.

Ed shook his head. “I didn’t think so, but I guess I don’t know.” He crossed his arms. “The strange orders came from him.”

“What’s next?”

“I’ll keep an eye on him.” Ed didn’t even stop to think about it. “And I’ll try to get some info out of Frederick. Discreetly, of course.”

Emira would keep an eye out for information as well, though she didn’t expect to find anything.

The twins walked home, continuing to discuss the topic. How strange it was that Nick was making decisions for the coven as a probationary leader, who the other candidates for coven leader could be, and why he had sent Ed on a dangerous arrest.

They had come away from the evening with more new questions than answers.


	25. Day 22 - Amity

Today, Amity and Luz planned to visit another coven. They had gone to just over half at this point, and honestly Amity wasn’t sure how well it was going. So far, what she learned was more of the same. That she didn’t know what she wanted to do. While the covens all offered something different, they were each limiting in their own ways.

Amity was no closer to deciding which she wanted to join. She was having fun though; it was great spending time with Luz. Even as she tried not to embarrass herself in front of Luz, Amity enjoyed learning about the covens with her.

They agreed to meet in front of the school to go to the next coven, with Willow offering to join and show them around. Amity felt a little nervous about spending time with her, but knew things had gone okay last time. If she focused on not putting her foot in her mouth, she’d probably be alright.

After school ended, Amity worked her way to the designated meeting spot in front of the building. Luz and Willow were already standing there when she arrived. Luz was talking animatedly about something, while Willow giggled in response.

Amity fought off a twinge of nerves as she greeted them and was brought into the conversation. As it turned out, Luz was recounting a story from her oracle class that day. While trying to cast oracle magic, she had made an orb explode. It turned out the glyph she was trying to use made a gust of air, instead of telling fortunes. When she tried to use it on a crystal ball, well, it had gone badly. The sound effects Luz made to depict the event made it a lot funnier than it probably had been.

Once the story was finished, the group set off towards their destination. They were headed to the Plant Coven, or more specifically one of the larger greenhouses run by the coven. When Willow overheard Luz and Amity talking about it, she said she knew it well and offered to show them.

“What kind of plants do you grow?” Luz was full of questions, as usual.

Willow brought a hand up to her chin as she thought about it. She was leading the way as they walked, with Luz barely half a step behind her. Amity trailed after them, listening to the exchange. “Well, all kinds.” Willow said, smiling at Luz. “There are too many to count.”

“I’m so excited to see them!” Luz had a distinct bounce to her step today. It seemed like their experience at the construction site last week, which had almost resulted in their injury, hadn’t deterred her. Amity admired her tenacity.

The conversation continued as they neared the greenhouse. Willow talked about a couple different plant types they were growing there, after Luz pressed again for more details.

When they reached the building, Amity examined it carefully. It was just over one story tall, with the whole outside being made of glass. Even the roof was transparent, to let light into the building. There were some large plants on the other side of the glass, with a few witches visible beyond them.

Willow went in first, opening the glass door. Luz’s head was swiveling as she followed, with Amity not far behind.

Once inside, she could see the plants much more clearly. They were everywhere, covering almost every surface in the building. There were large plants, small plants, and even some plants that were bright colors. She had never seen so many in one place. There were a few witches around, some watering the plants while others cast spells.

One witch near the door looked over as the three students entered. “Hey Willow!” She called over to them and waved.

Willow returned the wave, before gesturing for Amity and Luz to follow her. “This is one of the main greenhouses. Most of the bigger plants are grown here.” She said as she led them further into the building.

Another witch said hi to Willow as they passed them, briefly interrupting the tour to exchange small talk. Willow rubbed the back of her head sheepishly as they continued.

“I’ve been visiting here for a long time.” She admitted, a hint of pink on her cheeks. “Even before I switched tracks.” Amity remembered when Willow had been on the abomination track with her and how much she had struggled with that type of magic. Willow changed tracks right around when Luz first appeared in their lives, which seemed to be a positive change for her.

“Your plant magic is amazing!” Luz complemented her, bringing a small smile to Willow’s face.

“Thanks Luz.” She replied quietly, then pushed on with the tour. “Each coven member is assigned space in the greenhouse. They have to grow plants that match the climate of the greenhouse, but other than that they’re free to choose.” Willow stopped by an elevated shelf that contained some pod like plants. “These are purple snappers, a rare and hard to grow species.”

Luz reached towards the plants slowly, one finger extended. The pod, as if sensing her approach, shifted as if to open. It gave Amity a bad feeling. She turned to Luz to suggest she stop, but Willow had beaten her to it.

Willow clamped a hand down on Luz’s wrist, yanking her back from the pod right before it surged forward. Amity saw only a hint of teeth before it settled back. “Don’t touch them, should’ve said that first.” Willow chuckled nervously.

Luz just stared at the plant in wonder. “It’s purple on the inside.” She finally said, unfazed from almost having her hand eaten.

Willow released her wrist. Amity probably would’ve held onto it a bit longer. “That’s how they get their name. They make great guard plants.”

“Guard plants?” Amity repeated the term; she hadn’t heard of that.

Willow nodded. “They’re often used around fences, to keep witches from climbing them.”

“I bet they’re good at that.” Luz’s eyes were sparkling as she admired the plant that almost bit her. “Who’s a good plant?” She cooed, both hands behind her back as an effort to not try and touch it again.

As hard as it was for Amity to tear her eyes away from Luz, especially when she was being this cute, she still wanted to ask more questions. “What else are the plants here used for?”

“Some are used in potions.” Willow answered as she started moving again through the greenhouse. “Others are planted across town, sold to other witches, or kept here for experiments.” They stopped at a large tree, one that towered over the teens and almost reached the ceiling. “They’ve been trying to graft different types of trees onto this one, so it can produce various types of fruit.” Willow pointed to one of the branches, which was a different color than the others.

Amity squinted up at it; it barely looked different to her. Luz was impressed though, and commented about how convenient that would be.

“How do I get space to grow something here?” Luz asked, eyeing one of the few open patches of dirt nearby.

Willow shook her head, now frowning slightly. “Coven members only, I’m afraid. I can’t grow anything here either.”

Luz’s expression immediately fell. “That’s too bad. I can already do a plant spell too.” She whipped out her glyph notebook, quickly flipping to an open page. The plant spell was pretty impressive, though Amity still didn’t understand how Luz’s magic worked.

“Oh, I bet the coven members would love to see that.” Willow called a few of them over as Luz drew the glyph. She drew it slowly, likely wanting to get it right on the first try.

Luz glanced around, and then tapped the glyph with her finger. A small plant sprung up, just larger than her hand. The coven members around them oohed at the accomplishment.

They immediately started asking questions about the glyph and what kind of seed Luz was using. She admitted she didn’t know, which only seemed to intrigue them more. They asked if they could have a copy, to try and plant it. Luz couldn’t turn them down, and she ended up making five more plants to hand out.

Watching Luz have fun always lifted Amity’s mood. Now she was talking about how she wanted to find a new plant glyph, to make different types of plants. One of the coven members had started taking notes.

The Plant Coven seemed interesting, but like the others Amity couldn’t imagine spending all of her time in a greenhouse like this.

Willow had separated from the group, to go water one of the nearby plants. This one was much smaller, some kind of flower that hadn’t bloomed yet. Amity joined her, watching as the water trickled between the leaves.

“Are you really thinking about joining the Plant Coven?” Willow had her eyes focused on the plants as she asked the question. The question hung in the air, heavy despite the clamoring nearby.

Amity brought one hand up to her wrist as she searched for the words to respond. “I’m not sure what I want to do.” She replied after a moment, giving an honest response. It was a strange feeling, sharing things with Willow again. She remembered the last time she had, not long before the birthday where everything fell apart. “That’s why we’re looking.”

“I’m sure you’ll find it.” Willow paused her pouring and turned to her, a half-smile on her face. “And if you don’t, that’s fine too.”

“Is it?” Amity’s eyebrows scrunched together. She wasn’t sure if she agreed with that.

Willow nodded, her eyes flicking over to Luz. “Yeah, I think it is.”

Amity followed her line of sight, where Luz was now laughing at something one of the coven members had just said. When she saw them looking, Luz excused herself and hopped over to them.

“Ooh, what kind of plant is this?” Luz fawned over the plant Willow had just watered.

“Chrysanthemums.” Willow replied. “Though they haven’t bloomed yet.”

“Oh, we have those in the human world too!”

The three talked more about human world flowers, before moving to the back of the greenhouse. There were some different types of cacti there, which Luz wisely didn’t try to touch.

With that, they had seen most of the plants they had there. Luz and Amity soon left, with Willow staying behind to lend a hand.

As they walked away from the greenhouse, they chatted about what they saw. Luz was trying to draw a new plant glyph, with little success.

Amity couldn’t stop thinking about the few words she’d shared with Willow and what she’d said about choosing a coven.


	26. Day 22 - Emira

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In retrospect, I should’ve found a better way to deliver the exposition in this chapter.

Today marked the start of the last week of the internship. Emira had mixed feelings about it ending; sure, the beginning had been awful, but last week she had really started to enjoy herself. She was finally finding something to do, a way to improve her magic. Going back to school would be supremely boring, plus she wouldn’t get to work with Jen anymore.

It was satisfying, contributing complex illusions to their work. It felt similar to pulling off a multi-step prank without a hitch.

Emira’s feelings towards Jen had leaned negative at first, with her strange trinkets and the way she assigned Emira simple tasks. Watching her perform magic had started to change that. Of course, now that the internship was almost over she was starting to grow on Emira. Things always seemed to work out like that.

Looking back, Emira hadn’t given her a fair chance. She’d been so preoccupied with wanting a challenge, she hadn’t thought about the reasons Jen would assign her smaller tasks at first. That was a chance to prove herself and to learn, a chance she passed up.

Well, she wasn’t doing that anymore. Emira had arrived at the usual time at the coven, going straight to Jen’s office like she normally did. Jen was already at her desk, writing something on a piece of paper. Her eyebrows were furrowed together as she thought.

Emira greeted her from the door, and then asked, “What’re you working on?” Was it a spell? She hoped it was a new spell.

Jen lifted the paper to show her, though Emira had to get close to the desk and squint to see it. “I had an idea for a spell.” It was some kind of light spell, another one with multiple layers. Jen pulled it back after a moment and put it back on the desk. “It’s still in progress, I can show you when it’s done if you want.”

“Thanks.” The spell had looked intriguing, but difficult. One of the layers involved bending light.

Emira sat in the chair, but barely had a chance to get comfortable before Jen rose to her feet. “C’mon, we have to go see the coven leader before we go.”

“That’s weird.” Emira commented as she stood back up.

“I think it’s going to be good.” Jen stepped out of the office, waiting for Emira to pass before shutting the door.

They walked down the hallway to the coven leader’s office, which was further back into the coven, then knocked and entered. Emira hadn’t spoken to him for a few weeks; she hadn’t missed him.

His smile always managed to creep her out, and this morning was no different. “Emira, Jennifer,” He addressed each of them in turn, both hands held together on the table. “I have some… interesting news for you.” He paused, perhaps for dramatic effect, before continuing. “Emira, one of the market witches was so impressed with your sign work last week, they’ve requested your services today.” It took Emira a moment to process what she just heard, quickly repeating the words in her head.

“I got a request?” She asked to clarify, glancing over at Jen. The older woman was beaming, a huge smile on her face.

“That’s right.” The coven leader nodded, his plastered-on grin unphased. “Unfortunately, we’re going to have to assign the job to another witch.”

Though the line was delivered with the same tone, it immediately shattered the mood. “Why?” Emira tried not to let her disappointment show, since it would just give him fuel to use against her.

“As an intern, you can’t work a paid commission or take jobs by yourself.” He sounded so smug, perhaps because it was bad news.

Emira didn’t have an argument against that. She knew as an intern that her role was only temporary and didn’t carry full membership with it. She was just supposed to shadow Jen, after all. Perhaps last week had been a fluke.

“I’ll go with her.” Jen stepped forward, moving between Emira and the coven leader. “Even if they’re only paying for one witch, that’s fine. I’ll go support her.”

Now the coven leader’s smile slipped, just by a few teeth. “She still can’t lead the job.” He countered. “Remember what we talked about?”

Jen didn’t falter. “Write that I did it. What Odalia doesn’t know won’t hurt her.” Hearing her mother’s name piqued Emira’s interest. This sounded like some interesting coven leader gossip, which was something that she very much wanted to learn more about.

“Very well.” The coven leader folded easily under the weight of Jen’s glare. “The job falls on your shoulders then.” He handed a small piece of paper to Jen, then dismissed them from the office.

When they reached the hallway and shut the door, Jen sighed. She looked lost in thought for a moment, before handing the paper to Emira. “This is yours.” She said, a smile returning to her face.

Emira accepted the slip of paper. It had a stall number written on it, along with the name of the requester. “Thank you.” She said, for both the paper and for what happened in the office.

“You’ve earned it.” Jen started walking down the hallway, putting distance between them and the coven leader’s office.

Emira followed, wondering if she should ask the question on her mind. Oh, of course she would ask, whether she should or not. “What was that about my mother?”

Jen glanced back over her shoulder, but didn’t stop walking. “Just a long game the two of them have been playing.” She grimaced. “You and I are both pawns, unfortunately.” It didn’t sound like a joke.

Emira disagreed. If she had to assign Jen a chess piece, it would be the rook. She was consistent, reliable, and highly skilled. Not that Emira played chess often, but she knew what the pieces were.

“What kind of game?” Emira pushed for more details, curious about the politics of the coven leaders. Since it had impacted her internship experience, she especially wanted to know.

Jen glanced around, though there were no other witches in the hallway with them. “It’s a long story.” She said as they reached the wing’s exit. “I’ll tell you on the way.”

They passed through the lobby, then left the building to walk to the market.

Jen waited until they were far enough from the building before she continued speaking. “I should start at the beginning, I suppose.” They walked side by side as Jen spoke. She said that eight years ago the previous coven head had retired. He hadn’t chosen a successor, so the job was up for grabs. There had been a few witches with an eye on the job, including Jen and York, the current coven leader. Finally, Emira had a name to match to his face.

Another piece of information was more important than that. “You could’ve been the coven leader?” Emira cut in to ask.

“Perhaps.” Jen looked off into the distance. “But I was more focused on my magic. York though, he was hungry for the job. He would visit the Emperor to show off his magic, always trying to impress him.” Jen turned back to Emira, bringing her voice quieter than before. “I don’t have all the details, but your mother, Odalia, helped him secure the job. She’ll never let him forget it. To this day she meddles in the coven’s affairs.”

That was an interesting story. Her mother’s request back when she started the internship was starting to make sense, but there was still something off. “What does it have to do with my internship?” Emira was still trying to put all of the pieces together.

“I don’t know the specifics, but Odalia wanted it this way. When you were assigned to me, I was instructed to keep you out of the spotlight.” Jen shrugged, a thoughtful look on her face.

This kind of behavior Emira knew well. Her mother always did like to control everyone around her. “She probably wanted more public attention on Ed’s internship.” Emira sighed. “To bring acclaim to the Blight name.”

“Well, regardless, I think you’ve been doing a great job.” Jen changed the subject as they neared the market. “Getting a request like this is no small feat.”

“Thanks.” Emira wasn’t one to shy away from praise. The two turned into the market, so Emira looked again at the slip of paper. They located the stand that was listed, which Emira was surprised to see was a potion stand.

The owner was thrilled to see them, and greeted them warmly. He said he had seen how effective Emira’s signs had been last week and just had to get them to advertise for his shop. Emira thanked him for the request before getting to work.

She made the sign with a few layers, making sure to use the transparent layer Jen suggested to her before. The sign turned out great, even better than the one last week.

Emira looked up at it with satisfaction.

Despite her mother’s meddling, she’d managed to find her place at this internship.


	27. Day 22 - Edric

Monday mornings were always tough, both during school and the internship. Edric liked to sleep, so having to wake up early always felt like it was robbing him of precious slumber time.

He dragged his feet to the jail regardless, eager for the last week of the internship to finally be over. He was starting to find some success, but it seemed like things were getting more and more complicated in the coven. Edric and Em had stumbled across some unusual activity over the weekend, but he wasn’t sure what to do with that information yet.

He had many questions, which he likely would have a hard time finding answers to. Maybe bugging Nick’s office would help, if he could do it without being caught. Another option would be to tell Frederick, but Edric wasn’t sure if the witch would believe him. Frederick had known Nick for years, after all.

Without evidence, Edric didn’t have any proof that he was telling the truth.

With that thought in mind, Edric went to the locker room to meet Frederick as usual. The witch was already waiting for him in the hallway.

They exchanged greetings, then walked towards the dispatcher’s office. “Can I ask you something?” Edric asked, mulling over a different question that had been hovering in the back of his mind.

“Of course.” Frederick replied without hesitation.

Well, he said it was okay. “Do you want to be the next coven leader?” Edric had a feeling the answer was no, but he wanted to know for sure.

Frederick mulled it over for a moment. “I haven’t really thought about it.” He replied as they passed through the hallway intersection. “If the Emperor asked, I would accept of course, but I prefer working in the field.” That was pretty close to what Edric expected. He was getting used to Frederick, getting better at understanding him and predicting what he would do.

“That makes sense.” Edric nodded.

They reached the dispatcher’s office a moment later and entered to get their assignment for the day. The dispatcher again gave them keys to a van. Since they had done so well with bringing in the witch last week, they were being sent on a similar job. They were to make an arrest, there was even a warrant signed by the Emperor.

“This should be an easy arrest.” The dispatcher said as he handed the paperwork to Frederick. “They’re wanted for fraud, no history of violence. The address is on the warrant.”

“We’ll bring him in.” Frederick said with a firm nod. He took the keys to the van and led Edric out of the office and across the building.

They got in the same van as last week and were soon driving towards their destination.

“I’ll go to the door alone. You hang back and be prepared to cast a spell if he runs.” Frederick gave instructions as the city flashed by.

“Alright.” Edric wondered what spell he should use if that happened. There was the anti friction spell, but with a moving target it would be hard to aim. He could use an illusion rope, perhaps coming from the ground like the plant spell Frederick was somehow still trying to teach him. Another option was an invisible illusion barrier, but that would take a while to set up properly. It was too complex to cast on short notice, besides the fact that if they saw it before he completed the spell then it would be useless.

The drive took about ten minutes, but it felt like it passed quickly. They had left the center of town and were now in the residential district. There were houses everywhere, with narrow streets between them. The van barely fit on some of the roads, as they were built for smaller beast drawn vehicles.

When they reached the target house, Frederick double checked the address with the warrant. It was correct, so they climbed out of the van. The house had two stories with brown siding and a few windows. It looked like a normal house, nothing really stood out to Edric.

Frederick approached the front door, with Edric about fifteen feet behind him. He figured that was far enough away. Besides, he still wanted to hear what was going on.

Frederick knocked three times, the sound echoing loudly.

For a moment, nothing happened.

Then the door opened, being pulled from the inside. The witch who opened it matched the description that came with the warrant. Frederick asked for his name, which he gave. That too matched the warrant. So far it was going well.

With that information, Frederick seemed to have enough information to make the arrest. He showed the witch the warrant and told him he was under arrest.

That was when things got strange.

Immediately upon seeing the warrant, the witch protested that he hadn’t committed any fraud. He tried to back away into his house, but Frederick grabbed him by the wrist to cuff him. It looked like it barely took any effort to do so, as the witch was spindly and didn’t seem to have much strength.

Frederick walked the witch back to the van to put him in the back, where they would take him back to the jail. When they passed Edric, the witch again tried to plead his case. “Please, I’m innocent, you have to believe me!” He insisted he’d done nothing wrong, that this was all a mistake.

The way his eyes gleamed with tears and his voice wavered, Edric was almost inclined to believe him.

It didn’t matter though; they had been sent to bring him in. It wasn’t their job to judge him. If he was innocent, then the Emperor would let him go. Frederick had to pick him up to get him into the van, where he sat on the floor sniffling.

He looked pitiful as the doors were shut, trapping him inside. Edric and Frederick then got back in the front, to take him to the jail. Despite the loud sniffling noises, Edric resisted the urge to look back at him while they drove.

When they reached the jail, they passed him along to another officer along with the warrant.

As Edric watched him be escorted away, he couldn’t shake the feeling that something was off. He wasn’t sure what, but something felt wrong.

He didn’t have too long to dwell on it, as he and Frederick had to go return the keys to the dispatcher. They were then assigned a route to patrol, where a couple other coven members had already been sent. It was close, so they ended up walking.

“Do they often do that?” Edric asked as they left the building and set off towards their patrol route.

Frederick was walking ahead of him. “Do what?”

“Say that they didn’t do it.” Edric clarified.

“No, not often.” Frederick shook his head. “But don’t let it bother you. Stay focused once we reach our route.” It wasn’t quite a reprimand, but it felt like one.

Edric replied that he would and let the conversation die. The wood sword that he was still required to carry bumped against his leg as he walked, though he was starting to get used to weight of it on his hip.

They soon reached the route and met up with the other patrol witch assigned to it. It was a large one, so they only stayed with her for a few minutes before splitting off.

Edric kept an eye out for anything suspicious as usual, and like normal he didn’t see anything. There wasn’t a lot of crime in Bonesborough. That had been true before his internship and it would still be true after.

By the end of the day, there still hadn’t been any action. That was honestly fine, he didn’t need the excitement or potential injuries.

They walked back to the jail to report in, following the same path they had in the morning.

When they reached the locker room, Edric was surprised to see a coven member waiting for them. It was a witch who’d been on Edric’s mind all weekend, one Nick Ralph. Edric wondered what he wanted, especially after what he overheard him talking about with Kikimora. Nick was still in uniform with his mask on, but when he spoke that voice was unmistakable.

“How was the patrol?” He asked. It was a fairly innocuous question, but something about his tone rubbed Edric the wrong way.

“No trouble today.” Frederick replied amiably, not regarding his old friend with the same suspicion that Edric did. “How was yours?”

“I didn’t get to go.” Nick crossed his arms, leaning back against one of the hallway walls. “Had to spend all day cleaning up your mess.” Now Edric was really on edge.

Frederick sounded concerned. “What do you mean?”

“That arrest you made this morning, you got the wrong witch.” Nick took a paper out of his pocket and handed it to Frederick. This news answered a lot of the questions Edric had been asking himself about the arrest earlier. “Turns out it was a case of identity theft, and fraud, which you would’ve known if you investigated before arresting him.”

Wait just one minute. “That’s not our job.” Edric protested, drawing both sets of eyes to him. They were given an already signed warrant; it should’ve been investigated ahead of time.

“Even so, we should’ve gotten it right the first time.” Frederick didn’t back him up, instead admitting fault for the error.

“It is your job.” Nick replied to Edric, before turning back to Frederick. “And you absolutely should’ve. Mistakes like this damage the coven’s image; the Emperor won’t be pleased.” Nick didn’t sound upset by that; in fact he almost sounded smug. “You’ll never get promoted with marks like this on your record.”

So there it was, the reason he had come here to tell them. This came back to what Edric overheard over the weekend, which was Nick’s desire to be the next coven leader.

“Were they able to identify the true criminal?” Frederick was either unaware of the politics or unbothered by them. Edric suspected it was the latter.

“Not yet.” Nick shook his head.

“Let us know if there’s anything we can do to help.” Frederick started to walk past him, signaling that he was done with the conversation, and entered the locker room. Edric followed him in so that he wouldn’t be left out there alone with Nick.

He didn’t stay long, just long enough to hope Nick had walked away, before saying goodbye to Frederick and leaving.

It had been another strange day, but the puzzle was clearer than before.


	28. Day 24 - Amity

Today, Eda had told Luz to go have fun in the afternoon and not come back until after sunset. When Luz asked why, Eda just said “reasons” and sent her on her way. This made it a perfect day to check out another coven. They had almost visited all of them, with only a couple left.

Amity remembered hearing from Emira about a member of the Oracle Coven that told fortunes. They had a tent in town, where Emira had helped provide illusions during her internship. Emira told her they were probably open most days of the week, so they could visit at any time.

So when Luz asked if Amity was free to hang out, it was the perfect opportunity. At least, after her heart stopped racing it was. They went straight after school, walking across town to the location.

On the way, Luz talked about how things had been going with Lilith around the Owl House. It had taken her a while to get used to seeing her there, since they had been enemies not to long before. But since she settled in she’d started cooking for the whole house, which was much better food than what Eda could make.

Amity hadn’t known that about Lilith; they had only ever discussed magic.

They continued talking until they reached the tent. It was larger than Amity had expected, though not as big as the one where abomination wrestling had been held. The sides were all dark purple, to match the shade that the oracle track used.

A witch stood in front of the door, and smiled as the pair approached. “Welcome!” She spoke warmly, gesturing at the entrance with one hand. “Would you like to have your fortune told?”

“We sure do!” Luz was practically bouncing on her heels in excitement.

“Wonderful!” The witch told them how much a reading would cost, before collecting the coins from both of them. “Who would like to go first?”

Amity had to think about that, but Luz didn’t. “Ooh, I will!” Always eager Luz volunteered. “Can my friend come watch?” She asked, likely thinking about their true goal of learning more about the coven.

“Of course.” The witch lifted the flap on the tent to allow them inside. “Please come in.”

Luz’s eyes were wide as she entered the tent. Amity followed her, immediately making note of the light fog present inside. They seemed to have adopted some illusions to improve the atmosphere.

There was a table in the center of the tent with a crystal ball on it. It had two chairs around it, with one already occupied by a witch. Amity presumed she was a member of the Oracle Coven.

As the coven member beckoned Luz over to sit in the other chair, Amity moved to stand near the edge of the tent, staying outside of Luz’s line of sight as not to distract her. She could see well from the spot she picked, with the coven member and the crystal ball clearly visible.

To begin, the oracle asked Luz a few questions about where she went to school and where she was from. Luz answered enthusiastically, providing way more details than she’d been asked for.

When Luz finished answering, the oracle raised her hands over the crystal ball. She cast a spell circle above it, causing swirling smoke to appear inside. It didn’t look like anything special to Amity, but Luz was staring at it with wide eyes. Amity wondered what she saw within it.

“In your past, I see a loss of place.” The oracle spoke, and Luz’s eyes snapped up to her before moving back down. The oracle was quiet for a minute before speaking again. “In your present, I see strong bonds of friendship.” Luz was staring intently at the crystal ball. Again the oracle waited, before adding, “In your future, I see a difficult decision. One that will change the path of your life.”

“That sounds scary.” Luz commented with a frown. Amity squinted to try and see something besides mist in the crystal ball, but she couldn’t.

“It doesn’t have to be.” The oracle replied. “So long as you listen to your heart.”

Luz lifted one hand to her chest, holding it over her heart. “My heart, okay.” She repeated the words slowly, as if turning them over in her mind.

The oracle moved her hands away from the crystal ball, which allowed the spell to dissipate. “Thank you for visiting, I hope you have a stellar rest of your day.”

Luz stood from the chair. “You too!” She said, and then thanked the oracle for telling her fortune. “My friend Amity is next.” Luz looked around and, upon spotting Amity, waved for her to come over.

The oracle looked between them as Amity approached and sat down in the chair. Luz stepped away to watch from a distance.

As Amity watched the oracle lift her hands back into position, she felt nervous. She wondered what the oracle would say, hoping it wouldn’t be anything embarrassing. Luz was watching, after all. Maybe she would learn something about her future coven, something that would ease her concerns about the future.

The oracle asked the same questions she asked Luz, about Amity’s school and home. Amity gave short answers, with just as much information as necessary.

The oracle thanked her for her response and cast a spell, which started the fog in the crystal ball to swirl once again. From up close, Amity could see that it didn’t move in any particular pattern. No, each section moved erratically, against the others. She hadn’t noticed that before, perhaps because she was farther away.

After a moment, an image appeared in the fog. It showed her room at home, with young Amity and Willow standing inside. Luz must’ve been able to see images in hers, even though it had only looked like smoke to Amity. In the ball she was shouting at Willow, destroying their friendship.

“In your past, I see shattered friendship.” It felt completely different while sitting at the table, compared to watching from a distance. The scene continued to play in the crystal ball for a few moments, before being overtaken by fog.

When the fog cleared, it showed Amity again, older now. She was in the stands of the abomination wrestling match, sitting next to Luz. The two of them were cheering in the image, but Amity looked worried in it. “In your present, I see internal turmoil.”

The fog moved in again, replacing the image to show the future. Amity was in the center, her hair slightly longer than she kept it now. She looked to be taller too, which made sense if it really was the future. She was holding hands with someone, a person who’s back was turned in the image. They had short brown hair, and Amity was certain she could identify them as Luz.

“In your future, I see returned feelings.” Had Amity heard that right? It was almost like she was saying… Immediately Amity’s face grew hot; she was certain that it had turned bright red. She was grateful that Luz would only be able to see fog instead of the picture, or Amity would’ve covered the crystal ball with her arms.

She watched the two girls in the image walk together, hand in hand. As the image faded back into fog, Amity was able to cool her cheeks. She hoped that the future it showed her would come true. The oracle dispelled the spell and lowered her hands from the ball.

Wait, there hadn’t been anything Amity’s coven choice. “Did you see anything about a coven?” Amity asked, pulling her mind away from what she saw in the future to ask.

The oracle shook her head. “Fate has left it in your hands.”

Amity mulled over those words, the cryptic message they contained. “I see.”

When Luz appeared suddenly by her side, Amity remembered the last vision and had to fight to keep her blush from returning. The other teen was leaning over the crystal ball, scrutinizing it once again.

“Oracle magic is so cool.” Luz took out her little paper squares, using a pencil to draw on it. “I think I saw a glyph while watching. Oh, I hope it works!” She finished the glyph and then tapped it, but nothing happened. “Hmm.”

Amity watched as Luz crumpled it up and drew it again, still with no result.

“Try putting it on the crystal ball.” The oracle suggested, gesturing to the mentioned object.

“Good idea.” Luz tore the paper off and placed it on top of the ball. This time when she tapped it, it glowed light purple. A small amount of fog swirled in the crystal ball, just for a moment before fading.

“Yes!” Luz pumped one fist in the air, beaming. Amity couldn’t help but smile too; Luz’s joy was contagious.

“Fascinating.” The oracle had leaned in to examine the effect. “I’ve never seen oracle magic performed like that.”

“I can’t believe it works!” Luz quickly drew the glyph again. She dropped it on the crystal ball, but was stopped by the oracle before she could tap it.

“Think about what you want to see when you activate it. What you are searching for with the spell.”

Luz’s eyebrows scrunched in concentration as she placed the glyph and activated the spell. This time the fog swirled for twice as long, before fading away. Luz’s eyes sparkled as she looked up from it. “So cool.” She whispered.

“We’ve been learning about different covens.” Amity said, drawing the oracle’s attention back to her. “What else do oracle witches do?”

“I provide other services, such as viewing memories and communing with spirits.” The oracle explained. It sounded like an interesting job, though Amity had no experience with oracle magic. She tried it when she was younger, but hadn’t been able to do much more than make the crystal ball light up.

Luz seemed enamored with the job, especially since she’d just learned a new glyph for it. Amity watched as she asked a few more questions, taking jotting down a couple notes on a page of her glyph paper.

It was adorable, the way Luz was so enthusiastic at every coven they visited. She adapted to every new location, every new situation, like she could take on any challenge. Amity admired that in her.

The two teens soon thanked the oracle witch, leaving to walk around for a while. They talked about the few covens they had left.

“It’s just one, right?” Luz had her hand at her chin as she thought.

She was right. “Just the Healing Coven.” Amity confirmed. It felt strange to be almost done; she would miss visiting the covens with Luz.

Soon this adventure would be over and she would have to make a decision, but for now she would enjoy her time spent with Luz.


	29. Day 24 - Emira

When Emira entered the Illusion Coven, she could immediately tell that something was different than usual.

The secretary stopped her as she passed his desk on the way in. “The coven leader wishes to see you in his office, first thing.” That was concerning, but Emira didn’t have any choice but to comply.

“Is Jen already with him?” Emira asked, not sure if she should stop in her office first.

The secretary shook his head. “He only asked for you.”

That was even more ominous. Emira had just gone to see him a couple days before with Jen, so it didn’t make sense that he’d want to talk with her by herself. She wasn’t about to question the request though, especially not to the witch who was only delivering the message.

“Alright, I’ll go see him.” Emira continued walking past, heading into the employee section of the building. She passed Jen’s office, which had the door closed, and stopped at the coven leader’s door.

With one knock, he called for her to enter.

Nothing had changed inside from before, except for Emira being summoned there alone. The coven leader’s eerie grin felt all the creepier when directed only at her.

“Please, take a seat.” He said, gesturing at one of the chairs in front of his desk.

Emira did as instructed, trying not to let any nerves show on her face.

The coven leader took a moment to gather his thoughts, glancing over Emira’s shoulder and then back at her face, before continuing. “I’ve heard great things about your accomplishments while you’ve been interning here. You’ve impressed Jennifer and have even received your very first job request.” The words were complements, but the way he spoke still didn’t make it feel sincere. Especially after learning how he got the position. “I have an offer for you. We don’t do this often, but I would like to invite you to join the coven early.”

What? He wanted Emira to join? She couldn’t believe what she was hearing. “What about school?” Emira asked, trying to gather her thoughts. She’d heard of students leaving Hexside early to join covens, but it almost never happened.

“You would graduate early and start full time with the coven.” The coven leader brought his hands together, holding them on the table.

Emira honestly didn’t know what to make of this offer. She knew that a few weeks ago, if it had been offered to her, she would’ve rejected it in a heartbeat. She had been dead set on joining the Emperor’s Coven. Now though, she wasn’t sure. After all this time she was starting to see how she could fit in here, how she could have a place. It was flattering to be offered a spot.

The fact that Emira wanted to consider the offer surprised her. She was interested in joining the Illusion Coven.

That didn’t mean she was going to accept it right now, of course. She still wanted to complete her final year at Hexside, especially after seeing just how much farther she could push her illusion magic. Plus, Ed would murder her if she made him go to school alone for a whole year.

There was also the fact that she didn’t fully trust the coven leader. Knowing him, he almost certainly had ulterior motives for making this offer. The chess game she discussed with Jen was still on her mind; she could almost see the board reflected in his eyes, the hand moving to lift a pawn one space up the board.

Perhaps in a year, once she was finished with school, she would think about coming back. She’d return on her own terms, not by anyone else’s decision.

It was time to respond; the silence had already stretched too long. “I appreciate the offer, but I’ll have to decline.” Emira spoke clearly, decisively. “After I graduate, I’ll consider it.” No promise or guarantee, but maybe she’d come back here.

If he felt anything at her response, the coven leader hid it well. His smile didn’t budge, not a single inch. “It’s been a pleasure having you intern here, and I hope you do.” He stood from his chair, gesturing one hand towards the door. “Jen is waiting for you, thank you for meeting with me.”

Emira nodded, standing as well to leave. She exited the office, mind still reeling from the offer. As she walked down the hallway, Emira wondered if she should’ve taken more time to think about it. No, she shook her head, she made the right choice.

When she reached Jen’s office, Emira went inside. Jen was sitting at her desk, eyes trained on the door. She perked up when Emira entered; it seemed like she knew what was going on.

“Did you accept?” Jen asked, brown eyes gleaming with excitement. Her smile shrank when Emira shook her head. “I understand. Either way, let’s have a great last few days.”

“Where are we headed today?” Emira didn’t want to dwell on her rejection of the coven, especially since Jen looked disappointed at the result.

“They’re shooting a movie nearby, need some illusions to spice things up.” Jen stood, grabbing her palisman staff as she did. “The two of us are perfect for the job!”

“Sounds good.” Emira was intrigued; she’d never been part of a movie before. She hoped the needed magic would play to her strengths, so she could try to take the lead again.

The two left the coven soon after, flying on the palisman staff to the job. After about ten minutes in the air, Emira could see their destination.

The movie was being filmed on top of a large building, with a large number of witches involved. They had large cameras, all centered around one spot. A witch with a clipboard was pointing insistently, sending other witches scurrying into action.

Jen landed the palisman staff near the edge of the roof, away from the cameras as not to disturb the filming. They then weaved through the mess of cables to get to the witch with the clipboard, who was likely the director.

“We’re here from the Illusion Coven.” Jen said, before introducing them.

The director was a gruff witch, with his mouth set in what looked to be a permanent frown. “Good, you’ll be on soon. Sandra!” He called over another witch, a young woman who looked to be in her twenties. “Explain the illusions to them.”

“Yes sir.” She nodded a few times quickly, and then gestured for Jen and Emira to follow her away from the director. “We’re shooting a big action scene today. The director wants an explosion with a visible shockwave. It’ll be timed with a stunt, over where the tower is.” The witch pointed towards a small tower on the side of the roof where they were shooting. She continued talking about the specifics of the stunt and the size of the needed explosion.

“We can definitely do that.” Jen replied with her usual certainty.

“Great. The director will want to see a sample of the effect soon, I’ll let you know when.” The witch said, before returning to helping with filming.

Emira watched her go, before turning to Jen. “Should we divide and conquer?” Emira asked, already knowing how Jen operated.

“Exactly.” Jen nodded. “We’ll split it up, fireball and shockwave. Which do you want?”

She was offering Emira the choice? Emira couldn’t help but smile as she replied. “The fireball, I feel more comfortable with layering it.”

“I’ll get the shockwave then.” Jen glanced over at the filming set, then the opposite end of the roof. “Let’s go practice until they need us.”

Emira thought that was a good idea, especially since she needed to decide how to build her explosion spell. It was going to be on top of a tower, so that was important to consider. What kind of explosion would that make?

She thought about it as they walked farther from the filming site, so that they could practice in peace. Emira settled on layering in a blooming effect, to make it look like the explosion expanded outward. The layers were ones she could handle casting together, so it would work.

When Emira tried to cast the spell, albeit in a small version, she was successful. It made a small blooming fireball. Then she worked with Jen to time the second part, which was the shockwave. Jen commented on Emira’s choice of spells, suggesting a small tweak to them. Emira made the change; as usual Jen knew exactly what she was talking about.

Within twenty minutes they had built a very impressive chain of spells. The timing was good, and it would hopefully impress the director.

They walked back over near the filming site to watch until it was time. The actors were arguing about something, waving their arms in broad motions. They kept doing the same scene over and over again, starting back at the beginning each time.

Once they finished with that scene, the director called for Emira and Jen to get ready. He asked to see a small sample of the explosion, which they showed off to him easily. He still looked irritated after, but he said it would do.

They then got into position, just out of camera shot near where the illusion explosion would be. While the explosion was happening, the actors would be diving off the roof and onto a net. Emira knew they would probably have to do it many times over, but she was okay with that.

Being here, doing complex magic and performing, were the things she was starting to enjoy about the Illusion Coven. They were why she couldn’t outright reject the offer that morning.

They filled her with joy as she cast the large spell, watching the result of her hard work blooming over the tower.

As expected, she had to do it again. And then again, many times over the next few hours. By the end, it had almost completely drained her magic, casting this many spells over a long period of time. Jen, of course, was completely unphased. She hit the timing for the shockwave every time, making one vibrant enough to show up well on film.

Later, on their way back to the coven, Emira would ask her what spells she was using. After all, if she wanted to become a master of illusions, she would need to learn some new tricks.

Jen could certainly teach her a few more of those in the few days they had left.


	30. Day 25 - Edric

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There are just 5 chapters left! Thanks for reading so far!

With only a couple days left in his internship, Edric was quite chipper. Sure, he would have to go back to school after this, but at least he wouldn’t be spending all day on his feet.

He met Frederick by the locker room as usual, with the other witch beating him there as he always did. They exchanged small talk while they walked to the dispatcher’s office.

Unusually, there was another coven member already inside the office with him. Edric didn’t know who it was until they spoke.

“Just the pair I was waiting for.” The coven member, now identifiable as Nick, much to Edric’s displeasure, said as the pair entered the room.

“Are we being deployed together?” Frederick asked. He had mentioned that he expected to be put in training today, after being in the field for the first three days of the week.

The dispatcher shook his head. “No, you’re being deployed. I need a minute though.” He then turned to Nick, tone sharpening. “What is it you want, exactly?” He sounded displeased.

Nick crossed his arms. “As I said, the intern should be assigned to me for the rest of the week.” So, he wanted to take Edric away from Frederick for the last two days. He must’ve been trying to gain favor with the Emperor, Edric figured.

“You still haven’t explained why.” The dispatcher sounded annoyed, as if this conversation was grating on his nerves. Edric could understand; he was also irritated by the topic.

“You heard about what happened last week, and just a couple days ago Frederick led him on an illegal arrest.” Nick uncrossed his arms so he could count those two reasons on his fingers. Hold up, both of those things happened because of where they were deployed. Neither was Frederick’s fault.

“Excuse me,” Frederick intervened in the argument before Edric could. “Both of those situations turned out fine.”

The dispatcher wasn’t impressed either. “One slip up isn’t enough to strip his responsibilities away. Besides, neither you nor I have the authority to do that.”

“We both know that nobody higher up will object.” Nick pressed harder, his tone insistent. He leaned over the table, hovering over the dispatcher.

The dispatcher wasn’t caving. “No, and that’s final.” With that said, he turned back to Frederick and Edric. “The two of you are being sent on some reconnaissance today.”

He shifted through his papers, taking a couple photos out of the stack. As he rifled through, Nick huffed and stormed out of the office. Good riddance, Edric didn’t like him anyway.

The pictures showed a couple different angles of a rundown building with broken windows. The walls looked damaged and crumbling. “This building was recently abandoned. We need to make sure it’s actually empty. Check it out, see what you can find.” He cast an illusion quickly, which made a large map of the city appear behind him. To west of town, a yellow dot flashed. “It’s located here, you can get there by palisman.”

“Alright, we’ll take a look around.” Frederick examined the map carefully and took the photos, before fetching a palisman staff from the supply.

The two left the dispatcher’s office without another word, heading outside to fly to their destination. Frederick didn’t offer any comments about why Nick was trying to get Edric assigned to him, and there was no way Edric was going to bring the topic up.

Once they were on the palisman, flying high above the city, Frederick finally spoke. “Be careful today.” He said, glancing back at Edric. “The building looks unstable, so watch your step.”

“I will.” Edric replied, having to raise his voice to be heard over the wind. The conversation died almost as soon as it started, with only the whoosh of rushing air to accompany them. Edric wondered what Frederick was thinking about, but he had yet to invent a mind reading spell to find out.

After a few more minutes of flying, they left the edge of Bonesborough. The next area consisted of fields and scattered buildings. When their target was in sight, Frederick took the photo out to double check that they were at the right building. It seemed to check out, so they landed in front of the building.

The building was two stories tall, with white peeling paint on the walls. The few windows were smashed, and the front door was ajar. The grass around the house was overgrown, as if it hadn’t been cared for in at least six months.

“Got your sword?” Frederick asked as they walked towards the entrance.

“Yup.” Edric patted it on his hip.

“Be ready in case there’s trouble.” Frederick cast a spell as they reached the door, which caused a ball of light to appear in his hand. He stepped slowly into the house, leading with that light.

Edric cast a similar spell as he followed, creating a small beam of light that he could direct with his hand. Upon entering, Edric was hit with the overwhelming smell of mold. This building had clearly been abandoned for a while.

They started on the first floor, with Frederick leading the way. They looked in each of the rooms, checking for anything worth reporting back about. They didn’t find much besides dirt, dust, mold, cracks in the walls, and abandoned garbage.

In the kitchen, Edric tried to turn the sink on. Unsurprisingly, no water came out. “Utilities have been shut off.” He commented to Frederick, who nodded.

“It’s been empty for a while.” Frederick replied, scooping a layer dust off the counter with one finger and examining it closely. A bug skittered away towards the corner, causing Edric to flinch away. Frederick didn’t react to it. “Let’s check upstairs.” He said as he turned away from the counter and walked back towards the center of the building.

They then went up the stairs, with Frederick again in the lead. He took each step slowly, making sure that the whole thing wasn’t about to collapse under his feet. Even going second, Edric felt uneasy. He was getting a strange vibe from this place, was it haunted or something? It felt like residual magic as he walked up the stairs, but that shouldn’t have been the case.

At the top of the steps, there was a straight hallway with a few doors. Frederick went to the closer ones first, looking in at what looked like offices.

When they reached the end of the hallway, things started to go wrong.

Like he had for all the other rooms, Frederick stepped through the door first. This time though, unlike all the others, there was a reaction. A spot on the ground in the doorway glowed a moment after he stepped past. Edric backed away when he saw it, only making it half a step before the floor started to shake.

Frederick spun around when he felt it, but it was too late. “Get back!” He shouted, taking one futile step towards the door. The doorframe cracked and fell in before he could make it, parts of the walls and ceiling coming not long after. Shafts of light came in through the gaps. Edric backed even farther away, as the floor fragmented beneath his feet, bumping his back against the wall of the hallway. The rubble at the door fell through the floor, causing cracks to web out from the spot. A huge cloud of dust flew up when the rubble landed, making Edric cough and keeping him from seeing through.

“Frederick!” He called out between coughs, hoping the other witch would respond.

There was no reply.

Well, that was bad. Edric cast another light spell to try and get more light, though he knew it probably wouldn’t help.

After a minute, the floor stopped shaking.

For the time being, it seemed like the building was done collapsing. Slowly the dust started to settle, allowing Edric to see the damage. Where there had been a room before, there now was a huge hole in the ground and the walls. When Edric peered through it, he could see what looked like the kitchen below. It was full of rubble, pieces of the floor and walls that had fallen through. He couldn’t see Frederick, but he had to be down there.

Edric scrambled back to the stairs, running down to get to the rubble. When he reached the room, it looked even worse than from above.

“Hey, Frederick, you in there?” Edric called, pushing a slab closest to the door to move it. It was heaving, far too heavy to lift.

This time, he got a response. The sound of coughing, not usually welcome, guided Edric in the right direction. “I’m here.” Frederick’s voice was weaker than usual, though that could’ve been because it had to travel through the rubble. Edric moved towards the sound, stopping at a large pile of rubble.

“I’m gonna get you out.” Edric cast a net spell, then layered in a spell that enhanced muscle strength. It wasn’t one he used often, but he knew it. He slung the net over a particularly large rock, then tried to pull it out of position. Even with the strengthening spell, he wasn’t able to budge it.

Frederick coughed again, a rougher sound than before. “Stand back.” He said, which was not an instruction Edric really wanted to obey. “I’ll get it.”

“Are you sure?” Edric asked, switching to trying to move the boulder with his body. He cast the anti friction spell beneath it, but that only let him move it a few inches.

“Yes.” Frederick’s voice was clearer. “Go.”

Edric frowned, but complied. He stepped away from the pile of rubble, back to the doorway of the room. “Okay, I’m away.”

The sound that came next was so grating, Edric had to cover his ears and duck mostly out of the room. It seemed to be some kind of bard magic, radiating from the rubble.

Though it sounded awful, it worked wonders on the rocks and pieces of floor. They shook themselves apart, breaking into much smaller pieces. After a moment Frederick became visible underneath, his small foldable flute lifted to his lips. After a few moments he stopped playing, arms and flute dropping to his lap.

Edric crossed the room quickly, kneeling down next to him. “You okay?” He asked, knowing the answer was probably no.

Fredrick was taking deep breaths, likely trying to regain his strength himself. He lifted a hand, slowly, and cast a healing spell. “I’ll live. Are you hurt?”

Typical Frederick, worrying about him even after falling ten feet and almost being crushed to death. “No, I’m fine.” Edric wished he had mastered that healing spell. He plopped the rest of the way onto the ground, suddenly feeling exhausted.

“I’m glad.” Frederick cast a second healing spell, his hands already steadier than when he cast the first. “Do you know what triggered the collapse?” He asked, already in investigation mode despite still looking like he couldn’t stand.

Edric thought he might’ve. “There was a flash of light on the floor, right in the door.”

“Sounds like a spell.” Fredrick mused. He started to brush the dust and broken fragments off his clothes. “We should check it out.”

Edric didn’t move. “Just rest for a little.” He said, feeling like the rational voice in the room for the first time.

Frederick ignored him at first, but when he tried to stand he immediately sat back down with a grunt. “Fine, but just until I’m healed enough to move.” He cast another healing spell, with a larger spell circle this time.

“Yes sir.” Edric quipped in response, lightening his tone. It had been one crazy thing after another for the last week, with this as officially the wildest thing that happened so far. Hopefully nothing crazier happened, or he’d have to adjust that statement.

Edric picked up his knees and placed his arms on them, then lifted his mask to press his forehead against them. He closed his eyes, just for a minute, to calm his still racing heart. He could hear Frederick cast another spell beside him.

After a couple minutes, a rustling sound prompted Edric to open his eyes and sit up. Frederick was now on his feet, stretching his arms slowly.

“Let’s go.” Frederick said as his arms fell back to his sides. Edric rose to his feet slowly, muscles already complaining from his attempts to move the rubble earlier.

The two walked back through the house, heading back up the stairs. They did this even slower than before, since there was a higher risk of collapse. Luckily, the stairs held.

All of the dust had settled now, making a clearer image than before. The hole still looked huge, but Edric could see the ground around it much more clearly. Right at the edge, the floor looked to be fragmented strangely. The breaks at the edge were in straight lines and corners, while the cracks spreading away from the edge moved in random patterns. The sunlight was coming in strong through the new holes in the ceiling, so they didn’t need light spells to see properly.

“It was definitely a spell.” Frederick mused out loud as he examined the floor. “It must’ve been embedded in the floor.”

“Is that possible?” Edric had never heard of something like that. As far as he had learned, a witch needed to be present to cast a spell. Sure, small illusions could be triggered as traps, but they didn’t do anything except store an image. They didn’t have enough power to do something like this.

Frederick nodded. “It is, but only for the best of the best. A common witch couldn’t have done this. A trap this powerful can only be maintained for about a day.”

So it had to be a strong witch, one who had access to this building recently. That was strange though; the building had been abandoned.

“Wait.” Edric’s mind was spinning. “Are you saying a powerful witch tried to kill us?” If the spell had to be set recently, and the two of them had been assigned there that morning, wasn’t that the only logical conclusion?

“Not necessarily.” Frederick crossed his arms, stepping back from the hole in the ground. “I can’t imagine someone would try to attack you.”

That was where Frederick was mistaken. “I wasn’t the target.” Edric shook his head. “You were.” The pieces were starting to come together. He knew what was going on.

“The coven will investigate.” Frederick took out a piece of paper and started drawing the scene.

“Don’t tell them yet.” Edric said, drawing Frederick’s attention back to him.

Frederick sounded skeptical, doubtful. “Why not?” He was still working on his drawing.

“If you report it, they’ll cover their tracks. I have to find them before then.” Edric was confident that he knew who it was.

“You think this was an inside job? I’m not sure about that. It should be left to the coven.” Frederick insisted, abandoning his drawing to look fully at Edric.

“Do you trust me?” Edric countered with a question, an important one.

“Does that matter?”

Edric pushed harder. “Do you?” After all this time, it did.

Frederick sighed. “Yes.” He seemed reluctant to admit it, though that was only because Edric was pressuring him.

“Just tell them the building was abandoned. I’ll find out who did it.”

Reluctantly, Frederick agreed. Edric’s mind was churning again, this time running through plans.

He was going to need some help with this. Luckily, he knew just the witch for the job.


	31. Day 25-26 - Edric

When he got home from the coven, Edric was exhausted.

He had flown back to the coven with Frederick, and then reported that the house was old and crumbling, but abandoned. As promised, Frederick didn’t report the second floor collapse. The dispatcher asked if they had anything else to report, likely noticing the dust relentlessly clinging to their uniforms, but Frederick kept his word. He just said it was dusty from being empty for so long.

As soon as Edric made it to his room, he changed out of the uniform into his casual clothes. He only had to wear it for one more day; he wouldn’t miss it. Especially the mask, which he had no intention of returning.

No, he had other plans for it.

That would come later though, once all of his other business was settled. Now though, Edric settled down to plan. He had started to form a loose plan earlier, as they flew towards the coven, but now he sat at his desk and wrote it out. He crossed out and redid a few steps, wanting to make sure it would go smoothly.

By the time he heard Em getting home, the plan was almost done. As expected though, he wasn’t going to be able to do it alone.

Edric folded up the paper and put it in his pocket, then stepped out of his room and into the hallway. Em had gone into her room, so Edric cast a small spell to call her to the attic. He didn’t wait to see if she sent an illusion back, just went to climb up the ladder.

He used an illusion ladder, not trusting the real one and not wanting any unpleasant eight-legged surprises. When he looked over the edge and into the room, a small illusion trap activated. A polka dotted image of a spider scurried across the ground in front of him.

This was likely so Em would be alerted if someone came up here, but when the light flashed all Edric could see was the floor collapsing beneath Frederick’s feet. A flash of panic surged through him, his hammering heart screaming to drop back down, to get away.

Edric quickly climbed the rest of the way up, assuring himself that nothing like that was happening now. He dusted off one of the boxes and sat down on it, trying to calm himself. It was just an illusion spell, nothing bad was going to happen here.

By the time Em’s face appeared over the edge of the hatch, Edric had composed himself. “You look like you’ve seen a ghost.” She jabbed at him as she climbed all the way up. Well, maybe he hadn’t completely recovered.

“It’s been a rough day.” Edric admitted, sagging further against the box. “A building almost fell on me.”

“No way.” Em leaned against a different box, eyebrow raised in disbelief.

“Seriously.” If it hadn’t happened to him, Edric wouldn’t have believed it either. “But I know who did it, and I have a plan to catch them.” He took the paper out of his pocket and handed it to her.

Em opened it and skimmed over the words quickly. Her mouth was drawn in a firm line, unchanging as she read. “I’ll help you.” She replied to a question Edric hadn’t even asked when she reached the end, and then handed the paper back.

That brought a smile to Edric’s face for the first time since that morning. “Tomorrow’s the day.” He said, folding the paper back up. “We’ll do it at the jail, after the internship ends. Bring your scroll with the camera.”

“Got it.” Em nodded. “I’ll signal when I’m there.”

The two continued to discuss the plan, making sure they had all of the details ironed out. If it went well, then Edric would catch the culprit for sure. If it turned out he had the wrong suspect, then there wouldn’t be any harm done.

The twins ended the meeting when they finished, splitting up to head back to their rooms.

They had a big day tomorrow.

* * *

The morning felt like it came too soon, snapping Edric out of a peaceful sleep. His arms were still sore from yesterday, but they didn’t hurt quite as much.

He grabbed a quick breakfast and walked to the coven, following the now usual routine for the last time.

Frederick was waiting for him at the locker room, his uniform completely clean of the dust from the day before. He brushed a speck of dirt off Edric’s shoulder before the two went to the dispatcher for their post.

“You’ve had a busy week.” The dispatcher said, once they were inside the office. “So you’ll be training today.”

That made sense, since they had assignments outside of the jail all week so far. This was good, since it would make Edric’s later plans easier. Still, it made for an underwhelming last day of the internship.

Frederick seemed happy though, after yesterday he was probably still tired. “Thanks, let me know if you need us.”

“Of course.” The dispatcher nodded, then waved them out of the office.

The walk to the training room was a familiar one, and Edric criticized himself for feeling nostalgic. It was his nature to not like change, but he really wouldn’t miss coming here.

Maybe though, he would miss Frederick. The witch had really grown on him, despite his protective streak. His efforts to teach Edric new spells had been valiant, if foolhardy, and he had done his best to train him. He even made him passable at the sword.

Today would be their last day together. When they reached the training hall, they went to the same corner they normally used. Frederick brought a wood sword with him, probably for later use.

“Let’s see that plant spell.” Frederick said to start, causing Edric to remember exactly why he disliked training.

“If I must.” Edric said, drawing the spell circle in the air. After a month, he was able to complete the circle without issue. Once it was cast though, it still had minimal effect. A couple roots poked out of the ground, sticking up a couple inches in the air.

Frederick leaned over to look at them, shaking his head. “As good as it’s going to get, I guess.” He then laughed, a deep ringing sound. “I won’t ask about the healing spell.”

Edric smiled at that, unseen beneath his mask. “Thank you.” They both knew how that would go.

“At least you learned how to use the sword.” Frederick said with a chuckle. “Let’s work on blocking, so you don’t forget the minute you’re back at school.”

Edric didn’t really want to do that either, but as he had learned there was no getting out of it. “Alright.” He lifted the sword off his belt, holding it out in front of him in the correct defensive stance.

Frederick lifted his sword as well, and then lunged in to strike. For a while, they practiced. Frederick trying to land a hit while Edric deflected his blows.

After a while, Frederick changed it up. “Try to strike back, you can use spells like the one from before.” He was referencing the anti friction spell Edric had used to trip him.

This would take more focus than just blocking, but Edric was confident he could do it. The next time Frederick lunged in, he quickly cast the spell with his left hand. Surprisingly though, Frederick didn’t slide. He just kept coming, smashing his wood sword against Edric’s.

“Surprised?” Frederick sounded smug, like he was smirking beneath his mask.

Edric drew another spell circle, this time creating an illusion clone that lunged at Frederick from the side. Frederick stepped out of the way masterfully, leaving Edric off balance from leaning against their crossed swords. The clone vanished a moment later.

“How did you do that?” Edric had to ask, even in the middle of sparring. Besides, this could distract Frederick and let him get a hit in.

“Coated my shoes with anti slip potion.” Frederick replied without letting his guard down.

He’d been planning this then. Edric changed his tactic, abandoning the anti-friction spell. Instead he cast another illusion circle, creating a rope that was tied around his sword. This wasn’t as well planned as his first strategy, but it maybe it would work.

Frederick watched as he completed the spell, then lunged in for another attack. This time, when their swords crossed, Edric used his left hand to sling the rope around them. He caught it on the other side, and then stepped to the left and pulled.

Initially, this had the desired effect. It pulled Frederick off balance, as he refused to let go of the sword. Unfortunately, Edric couldn’t take advantage of the opening. By using his own sword as the base, it left him unable to use it. If he brought it back to swing, he would bring Frederick’s sword back with him.

This would only work if the opponent dropped their weapon. Edric frowned as he released the rope, allowing Frederick to retreat.

“You almost had me.” Frederick admitted once he was out of reach.

The two continued sparring for a while, with Edric unable to land a hit. When they took a break for lunch, Edric insisted it was a draw. Frederick initially said it wasn’t, but he gave in.

For the afternoon, they went back to magic training. Edric took the chance to show Frederick some more illusion magic, and helped him pick up a couple of the easier spells.

After they finished training, there was another task Edric needed to accomplish. It related to his plan for the evening.

“Do you know where Nick is assigned today?” Edric asked casually, while resting between spells, hoping Frederick wouldn’t find the question odd.

Frederick paused to think, clearly picking up on the strange vibe, but answered it anyway. “I don’t keep track of things like that. The dispatcher could probably tell you.”

“Hmm okay.” Edric mulled that over; he guessed it didn’t really matter, so long as Nick came back to the coven later. “Have you seen him today?”

“Not since yesterday morning.” Frederick hesitated before answering, and Edric could practically see the gears turning in his mind. This conversation was not going as intended. “You don’t think… What are you planning?” The question was accusatory, as if Frederick already suspected what was going on.

“Nothing dangerous.” Edric tried to mitigate the damage. “I’m just going to find the truth.” He hoped it wouldn’t be dangerous.

“I don’t think you’ll find anything.” Frederick said with a shake of his head. “But be careful.”

“I will.” Edric promised, despite making only the bare minimum arrangements.

The conversation died out, though Frederick still seemed concerned, and they practiced magic for a couple more hours.

When the end of the day came, it was time to say goodbye. They were still in the training hall, near the exit. Edric handed Frederick the sword he’d been carrying for the last couple weeks; he wouldn’t need it any longer.

“You should keep it.” Frederick gave it back to him. “You never know when you might need it.”

Though Edric despised the wood object in question, he still felt touched to be offered it. “Won’t they miss it?” He slid it back onto his belt, where he’d grown accustomed to having it.

“We have plenty.” Frederick replied, gesturing to the rack full of swords on the wall.

“Okay, thanks.” Edric wasn’t going to argue against it any further. He might need it later today, if things went south with the plan.

“You know,” Frederick said, then paused for a moment. “Even though you didn’t want to be here, you did a fine job. When you graduate, I’d be happy to work with you again.”

Edric was one hundred percent sure that Frederick didn’t have the authority to offer him a spot in the coven, but it was the thought that counted. Besides, even after a whole month there he still didn’t want to join the Emperor’s Coven.

“Thanks for looking out for me.” Edric said in response, thinking back to the times Frederick had saved his skin and all of the training he put him through. “I’ll see you around.”

“Absolutely.” Fredrick extended a hand to shake, which Edric accepted.

Soon after, they parted for the last time. Frederick went to the locker room, while Edric stayed in the training hall for a bit longer. He cast a spell, to start the first part of the plan.

Soon Em would join him, and the next phase would begin.


	32. Day 26 - Emira

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the longest chapter of the fic. It also contains nongraphic violence as part of the last fight scene of the project.

Today was the final day of the internship. After this, if she didn’t die carrying out Ed’s plan tonight, Emira would go back to being a regular Hexside student. She would miss the internship, just a little bit, but she was also glad the experience was ending.

She had spent the day with Jen, helping provide moving images as part of a performance. It was for a small children’s party, so it wasn’t on the same scale as their usual work, but it was still satisfying to see the looks on the kid’s faces as they watched the show.

At the end of the day, they went back to the coven, the same as they usually did. They sat in Jen’s office and debriefed the job. The fact that this would be the last time hung in the air between them. Emira remembered how excited Jen had been when the coven leader offered her a spot in the coven; she wondered if Jen was still thinking about what could’ve been.

“Your spell weaving has improved.” Jen commented, referring to the way Emira had layered a sound in with the images today. “In both timing and cohesion.”

That was good to hear. “I’ve been working on that.” The timing was the hardest part sometimes; if it was even slightly off then the experience for the watcher could be really weird.

“It shows. Don’t forget to keep practicing, even once you’re back at school.” Jen scribbled something down on a notepad, then ripped the paper off to hand to Emira. “Something to keep you busy.”

Emira accepted the paper, eyes widening at what she saw on it. This was a whole new spell combination, one that would create moving and transforming lights. The layers had been listed, along with timings for them.

“I’ll come show you when I’ve mastered it.” Emira said confidently, folding the paper to stow away in her pocket. Her fingers brushed the scroll camera inside, reminding her of what she was doing after this.

Jen smiled sincerely. “Looking forward to it.”

Emira glanced at the clock; Ed was expecting her soon. “I have to get going.” She rose from her chair, and was surprised to see Jen stand as well. “Thank you for everything.”

“It was my pleasure.” Jen’s eyes glimmered now, with just the hint of tears. “It’s been wonderful having you here and, no matter where your path leads, I’m sure you will achieve great things.”

That almost brought a tear to Emira’s eyes as well, but she was able to resist. “Thank you.” The words wobbled far more than Emira wanted them to.

Jen stepped around her desk, pulling Emira into a tight hug. The teen reciprocated it, wrapping her arms around the witch. Emira indulged in the warmth of the hug, for just a moment.

A few seconds later, Jen released Emira and stepped back. Despite still smiling, she wiped her eyes. “Go on then.” Jen said, her voice even less stable than Emira’s had been.

Emira nodded. “See you around.” She said, before turning towards the door.

“See ya.” Jen replied quietly, as Emira slipped out into the hallway. Even after holding it all in, Emira still had to wipe her eyes once.

She shut the door heavily behind her, officially closing this chapter of her life.

Of course, things couldn’t truly be over yet. Ed was waiting for her, and he needed her help.

Emira exchanged a brief farewell with the secretary, one with far less emotion than the last, before leaving the coven for good. She had no idea if she would be back, but she had enjoyed the last couple weeks there.

She walked to the jail, which took about ten minutes. On the way, she checked her camera scroll. It was in pretty good shape, without scratches on the lens or screen. She deleted a few videos while she walked to make sure there was enough space.

When she reached the jail, Ed was waiting outside. He was standing out by the sidewalk, and when he spotted Emira he started gesturing for her to come over. His mask was on, but Emira could still tell it was him either way. The sun was starting to set behind him, with shadows elongating across the ground.

“Hey, are you ready?” Ed asked as she approached.

Emira stopped in front of him, holding up the camera. “All set.” She replied.

He nodded. “Good, Nick should already be waiting for us. Let’s go over the plan one more time.” Ed spoke quickly, with nervous energy. He still had the wood sword on his belt that he’d been carrying for a couple weeks, which didn’t bode well.

“Sure.” Emira replied; it wouldn’t hurt to go over it again.

“So, I’m pretty sure Nick has been sabotaging Frederick. Tonight, we’re going to get proof.” Ed held up his old drawn map of the jail. He had drawn a large circle around the training hall. “I contacted him earlier, he thinks he’s meeting Frederick at the training hall. You’ll record, and I’ll get him to confess. Then we send the video as evidence.” The plan sounded simple enough, though the odds of it going off without a hitch were very slim.

“Sounds good.” Emira said with a firm nod.

“Let’s go then.” Ed started casting illusion spells. His shoulders puffed up, making him look more muscular. The second spell was a voice modifier, to make him sound like Frederick.

Emira followed suit, casting a series of spells that would make her completely invisible. She’d cast these together so many times, it was easy to layer them together. She made sure to cloak the camera too, though the spell didn’t work perfectly on it. Once the magic was in place, Ed started walking towards the jail. Emira stayed near him, in step and close behind.

They entered the jail without incident, and then entered the Emperor’s Coven wing. There had been one coven member in the lobby, but he didn’t seem to care that they were entering this late.

Ed led the way through the wing, going straight to their destination. He opened the training hall door without hesitation, holding it open long enough for Emira to slip inside.

The training room on the other side was quite large, especially considering the size of the jail. There was only one witch inside, a man dressed in the Emperor Coven’s uniform. He had his mask on, so Emira couldn’t see his face. This had to be Nick. Emira lifted the camera scroll and hit record, aimed at the witch.

As Ed approached the witch, Emira moved slightly to the side so she could get a better shot of him.

“Frederick, why did you call me here?” Nick spoke as Ed stopped a few feet away from him.

When Ed spoke, the voice modulator spell did its part in changing the sound. “Can’t I talk with my old friend?”

“Normally I’d say yes, but to call me here after hours…” Nick trailed off, taking a step closer to Ed. “What’s going on?”

“To be completely honest, there is something.” Ed moved a little to the right, to maintain the same level of distance between them. Emira shifted as well, making sure to keep Nick in the center of the shot. “I’m thinking about taking the promotion.”

Nick inhaled sharply, loud enough that Emira could hear it. “Have they offered you the job?” He asked, tone lower than before.

Ed shook his head. “No, not yet, but I expect it soon.” He spoke confidently, or uh, he used Frederick’s voice confidently.

“I don’t think they will.” Nick scoffed, again taking another pace closer. “Not after what happened this week.”

“That would be a good reason to take the position.” Ed kept an even tone as he replied. This time he didn’t move. “I can’t say I approve of recent deployments.” Emira didn’t really know what they were talking about, but she just kept recording.

“You’ve certainly messed them up, lately.” Nick shook his head, clicking his tongue twice.

“I’m mostly concerned for the intern. Today nothing happened, but yesterday he was almost…” Ed trailed off, bringing his voice down as if the next part was too hard to say.

“Almost crushed? Whose fault was that? I tried to take him into my care, but you were too stubborn to protect him properly.”

Ed seemed to prickle at that, his voice coming up. “Yes, but he wasn’t.” He then paused for a moment, thinking about something. “Wait, how did you know that?” Oh, this must’ve been what Ed was trying to get him to say. Emira zoomed the camera in on Nick, though she still couldn’t pick up his expression behind the mask.

“The dispatcher told me.” Nick replied smoothly, without hesitation.

Ed shook his head. “No, he didn’t.” He sounded smug, Emira wanted to smack him in the back of the head and remind him to stick to the objective.

“It was part of his report for the day.” Nick was starting to sound confused; Emira was impressed with how he kept his composure.

“It couldn’t have been.” Ed didn’t let up, pushing harder on the point. “Because I didn’t tell him.”

“You submitted an incomplete report?” Nick stepped closer again, now with only a few feet between him and Ed. “That’s not like you, Frederick.” His voice came down on the last word, the name sending a chill down Emira’s spine. He suspected something; she could feel it.

Ed, ever oblivious, continued as if nothing had changed. “It seemed too strange to report. But I still want to know, how did you find out? Because the way I see it, you only could’ve known if you set the trap.”

Nick scoffed, “Impossible. That doesn’t make any sense. I have no reason to want to harm the intern, especially after I tried to remove him for his protection!” The volume of his voice rose near the end of the sentence, betraying his agitation.

“Oh, but he wasn’t the target.” Ed said with a shake of his head. “You tried to take him so he wouldn’t get hurt, or perhaps, so he wouldn’t be there to witness it.” Nick’s hands had balled into fists by his side, all sense of composure having vanished. Emira made sure to catch it all on the video. “No, the trap was for Frederick.”

The atmosphere of the room changed quickly, as all present realized what he had said. Nick reached for his belt, placing a hand on the hilt of a sword.

“Who are you then?” Nick asked firmly as he drew the steel sword. The metal glinted, a clear threat of what was to come His other hand was raised, a finger extended to cast spells.

Emira quickly hit the button to stop recording, so she could stow the camera and help Ed get out of this mess. They got the footage they needed, so it was fine to stop.

That was the second mistake.

Emira knew the spells didn’t take full effect on the camera, but she had never recorded while invisible before. She couldn’t have known that when she moved the camera too quickly, it created a very visible shimmer in the air. Unfortunately, she was right in Nick’s line of sight.

Nick cast a spell quickly, drawing a small spell circle. Within a moment, just as the camera scroll was settled in her pocket, a ball of fire was shooting in Emira’s direction. She dropped the ground to avoid it, but the fireball still caught her illusion. Strangely, it stuck to the spell, which meant that her silhouette was now visible. The embers were eating through the magic too, forcing Emira to dissipate the spells.

She rolled away once they were gone, trying to avoid the flaming remnants. Her shirt was singed when she stood, but otherwise she was unharmed.

As this happened, Ed had drawn his wood sword. He glanced at Emira over his shoulder. “Did you get the footage?” He asked, as if she hadn’t almost been burned to a crisp.

“Got it.” Emira made sure the camera scroll was still there, safe in her pocket.

Another fireball shot across the room; this time aimed at Ed. He swiped at it with his sword to deflect it, but of course a wood sword was no use against fire. He was forced to drop it on the ground, and then quickly dodge a second blast.

“The intern and his twin, why am I not surprised.” Nick finally spoke again, head turning between the two.

Emira stepped forward to be by Ed’s side, hands up and ready to cast. He was still looking at the ashes of what had been a sword.

“So, how strong is this guy?” Emira asked, a question she probably should’ve been more worried about earlier.

“Pretty strong.” Ed looked up from the ashes, bringing his hands up to mirror her pose. His voice and form had returned to normal. “But we can take him.”

“Just give me the scroll, and I’ll let you go.” Nick said, though the fireballs he already sent told a different story.

Neither twin responded. Instead, they jumped into action. Emira cast an illusion rope spell, throwing it towards Nick. He reacted to it with another fireball, which burnt it out of existence. That was strange, fire magic shouldn’t be able to do that.

Ed charged forward, dodging past a second fireball to come in close. The arm of his uniform got singed, but he pushed on as if it hadn’t happened. Once he was within a foot, Ed cast two spells in quick succession. The effect was immediate. Nick seemed to lose his footing, one of his feet sliding and making him lose balance. An illusion rope appeared in Ed’s hands, which he quickly slung around the sword.

By the time it was in place though, Nick had regained his balance and pushed Ed back with another fireball. This one brushed his leg, leaving singed clothes and an angry red burn in its place. Ed stayed on his feet, having to drop the rope and retreat back to Emira.

Nick spun his finger in a much larger circle than before, this time summoning an abomination to fight with him. It was much larger than the ones Hexside students could summon.

“Got any ideas?” Emira asked, worried now about their odds and the injuries Ed had already taken.

Ed was breathing heavily as he replied. “We have to disarm him.” He lifted a foot to take a step, but stumbled and grabbed onto Emira’s arm. He cursed under his breath as he regained his footing.

“That’s not a plan.” Emira looked between the abomination and Nick, mind churning. Wait, were his fire spells anti illusion or just anti magic? That was it. “I’ve got it.” Emira didn’t have time to explain. “Can you cast a fog spell?”

Edric, for one in his life, complied without question. He cast the spell, which spewed fog throughout the room. Nick sent a fire spell flying through it, but it only scattered the fog for a moment. Under the cover, Emira started casting. First she cast a shimmer spell over the abomination, that would make it much harder to see. Second, she cast an image illusion that looked exactly like the abomination. A third spell created the thundering footsteps that an abomination that size would make.

“Lure him towards the real one.” Emira said, and Ed nodded in understanding. He continued spewing fog as the two leapt into the next phase.

Emira ran in front of Nick, drawing him towards where she knew the abomination was. He had a fireball in his palm, dissipating the fog around him. When he saw Emira he shot it towards her, but of course she was too fast. It did burn her arm, but that didn’t stop her.

Ed moved past next, this time right in line with the real abomination. Emira made sure to have the fake illusion one come closer, thundering so Nick would hear it.

This time, when Nick fired at Ed and he dodged, the fireball went straight into the real abomination. It screeched in pain as the flames made contact, eating away at its slime. Emira almost felt bad, but she was pretty sure they didn’t have feelings.

Nick’s head swerved, from the fake abomination towards the sound of his real one screeching, and then cast the spell to dismiss it.

With that, they were down to just one threat again. Ed wasted no time in charging back in, creating an illusion sword in his hand. He swung it in and was blocked. The metal and illusion weapons clanged together with a strange echoing sound.

“Give it up.” Nick practically spat in Ed’s face. “Before you get hurt.”

“I should be saying that.” Ed, despite his injuries, once again sounded smug. He used his free hand to cast a spell, once again sending Nick off balance.

This time Emira was ready. She quickly cast an illusion rope spell, slinging it around Nick’s ankles. With a tug she had him tumbling to the ground. He dropped his sword as he fell, but still had time to throw one more fireball.

It brushed past Emira’s side, sending waves of searing pain through her body. Suddenly, it felt like she could barely stand. She could barely bring herself to look down, let alone keep holding the illusion rope, but when she did she felt ill. This burn was going to need some serious medical attention.

With Nick on the ground with his feet bound together, Ed was able to tackle him, take the handcuffs off his belt, and secure them around his wrists. They would keep him from casting spells, so Ed was able to stand up and leave him there until they figured out what to do next.

Barely a moment passed before the doors to the training room slammed open. Three Emperor’s Coven members charged in, all with weapons out.

“See, I told you there was something strange going on.” One of them, clearly not the leader, chimed in.

“Mike, is that you?” Ed asked, now limping over towards the coven members. Emira, unable to stand any longer, collapsed to sit on the ground. Her whole side burned in pain, sitting didn’t really help.

“Edric? The intern?” The coven member met him halfway, seeming to recognize him. “What happened?”

The leader of the group, clearly irritated, took charge. “Take them all into custody, we’ll conduct interviews later.”

The third coven member approached Emira, looking down at her. “This one needs a healer.” She said, kneeling to inspect Emira’s singed clothing. “Badly.”

Ed turned away from Mike to limp over to her, trying to cast a healing spell. That was funny, maybe her pain addled brain was wrong, but Emira was pretty sure Ed couldn’t do healing magic.

In fact, her hearing seemed to be fading in and out. Was that from the pain? She wasn’t sure anymore.

The whole world seemed to spin as she was lifted to her feet, walked out to a van while leaning on Ed’s shoulder, and then driven away.

She checked to see if she still had the scroll camera in her pocket.

It was there.


	33. Day 26 - Amity

After school ended for the day, Amity went to the library with Luz. They hadn’t spent time just hanging out in a while, since they’d been visiting covens for the last month. There was still one coven left, the healing coven, but Amity felt different about this one. It felt like things would change when they went, like this time spent with Luz might come to an end.

That was silly; Luz wasn’t only hanging out with her because they visited covens. Still though, the thought hovered in the back of Amity’s mind. The nagging fear of being left behind.

Today though, she tried not to think about that. This trip to the library was dedicated to the Azura book series.

Luz had brought all of her books to school in preparation, so she would have them for the discussion. She showed them to Amity while they walked, going into detail about how she acquired each one. They all had different origin stories, which Luz told with gusto. Amity always enjoyed listening to her tales, to the way her eyes sparkled as she spoke.

At the library, they went to Amity’s secret room. She had acquired another chair for it, so she and Luz could sit in there together. Once the two settled down, they dove into conversation about the books.

Amity was enjoying the peace and quiet, but of course that couldn’t last.

She was flipping through the pages of Azura 3, looking for a specific passage, when a magic bird fluttered through the wall. It was small enough to fit in one hand, with bright blue feathers that glowed in the low light.

It fluttered around the room for a moment, drawing the attention of both teens, before settling on the table. Now that it had landed, Amity could see that there was a note tied to one of its legs. The magic bird lifted that leg and chirped.

“Are you expecting a message?” Luz asked, eyes locked on the small creature.

“I’m not.” Amity shook her head, a bad feeling settling into her gut. She stood from her chair to approach the bird, and carefully untied the note from its leg.

Once the note was loose, the bird chirped again and flew away, vanishing back out through the wall.

Amity slowly unrolled the paper, which had to then be unfolded. This was what it said:

_Hi Mittens,_

_Em and I are at the clinic near the market. They won’t let us leave. Please help. Do not tell parents._

_-Edric_

Amity wasn’t quite sure how to react to that, her first impulse was irritation at the nickname but it was quily followed by worry. Hopefully they weren’t injured too badly.

Ed had mentioned that morning that they had big plans, but she hadn’t thought that included getting injured. For both of them to be hurt, it couldn’t be related to the internship. Or could it, Amity wasn’t sure what to make of this.

Regardless, she hoped they were safe. It was usually Em who took the lead, so for the note to come from Ed meant that she was hurt worse than him. That only increased Amity’s worry.

The clinic by the market wasn’t too far from the library, so if she left now she could be there within fifteen minutes.

Wait, the clinic was part of the healing coven. That was the last one, the only one she hadn’t visited with Luz yet. Regardless of her reservations, it was time to go.

Amity turned back to look at Luz, who had been watching her read the note. “What’s it say?” Luz asked as their eyes met.

“Ed and Em need help. They’re at the healing clinic.” Amity frowned as she looked back down at the note, reading the words again to search for hidden meaning.

Luz closed her book and stood. “Let’s go then.” She said without hesitation. She put her books back into her bag, mouth set in concern as she did. Amity followed suit, stowing her books on the shelf.

Within a minute, they were heading out.

“Have you ever been to the healing coven?” Amity asked as they walked down the sidewalk, side by side. She had never succeeded at casting healing magic. Besides, it wasn’t one of the Blight family approved tracks.

Luz shook her head. “Nope, not yet.” Considering all of the antics Luz got up to, she was lucky to have avoided any serious injuries.

“That’s probably a good thing.” Amity chuckled, remembering her most recent visit. It hadn’t been that long ago, after she fractured her ankle while playing grudgby.

“I’m still excited to see it.” Luz picked up the conversation, kicking at a rock on the sidewalk. “Even though the circumstances aren’t ideal.” That was an understatement.

Amity took the note out of her pocket again. The writing was straight at least, so Ed couldn’t be that badly hurt. That’s what she told herself as they neared the clinic.

It was a single story building, with no fancy decorations on the outside. There was a set of doors at the front, with the word Clinic written above them on a large sign.

The two teens entered, looking around the lobby. Straight ahead of the doors, a witch sat behind a counter. There were a couple doors along the left wall. To the right, in a larger space, there were a few rows of chairs. That must’ve been the waiting room. Amity went straight to the counter.

“How can I help you?” The witch behind the counter asked, glancing between Amity and Luz.

“I’m here to see Edric and Emira Blight.” Amity figured she should ask where they were instead of just trying to search for them.

“Ah yes, they’re expecting you.” The witch glanced down at a binder, eyes skimming over an open page. “Through the door on the left, just down the hall in room 5.”

“Thank you.” Amity stepped away from the counter and walked to the designated door. She pulled it open and entered, with Luz close behind. The hallway ahead was lined with closed doors, each with a number on them.

They only had to walk about ten feet to reach door 5. Amity knocked, to be polite, and was surprised when the door was pulled open.

A witch dressed in the Emperor’s Coven uniform was on the other side. Amity didn’t know this witch; he wasn’t the witch Ed had introduced to her when she visited the coven.

“Your sister’s here.” He turned back into the room, saying that to those present inside.

“See, I told you she’d come.” Ed replied, sounding the same as he usually did.

The coven member stepped away from the door, allowing Amity and Luz to enter. The room was small, just big enough for two beds with a couple chairs between them. The coven member immediately sat in one of those chairs.

Em and Ed were each on one of the beds, both awake and wearing bandages. Ed had his leg and arm wrapped, but otherwise looked unharmed. Em, on the other hand, was wearing a loose shirt and had large bandages wrapped around her waist. Her face was paler than usual, and she was hooked up to an iv. The iv bag was almost empty.

“What happened?” Amity crossed her arms as she looked between them, settling her glare on Ed. He seemed much better equipped to respond.

Ed smirked, an expression that did not calm Amity’s ire. “Just internship things.” He said, drawing a scoff from the Emperor’s Coven member. Amity just raised an eyebrow at Ed, prompting him to continue. He looked over at Em, prompting for her to jump in.

“We got in a fight.” Em said, though that still didn’t help much. “With an Emperor’s Coven member. It’s complicated.” That didn’t make any sense.

Amity must’ve been making the strangest face, since Ed quickly tried to explain. “It was to help Frederick, and we won.” He said that like it justified getting hurt like this.

“That’s so cool.” Luz stepped over to the open chair, taking a seat. “What kind of magic did they use?” She leaned excitedly towards Ed.

“Fire magic.” Ed made an exploding motion with his hands, to represent the fire. “Which, believe it or not, hurts when you touch it.”

Amity lifted one hand to her forehead, trying to gather her thoughts. She stepped over to Em’s bed, leaving Ed and Luz to discuss the magic. “Are you okay?” Amity asked, trying to put aside her confusion for the time being. She sat down at the foot of it, taking a good look at her older sister.

Em seemed to be making a real effort to smile, though she looked even paler up close. Her bandages were white, with no sign of blood seeping through. “I’ll be fine. It’s just a burn.” She gestured at her bandaged side, wincing as she moved.

Amity wondered, if she knew healing magic, would she be able to help her? She wanted to, even if she couldn’t.

“Do you need to stay overnight?”

“I don’t think so, only if Mike detains us.” Em replied, tilting her head slightly towards the Emperor’s Coven member.

Amity’s confusion came right back. “Why would he detain you?” She felt a headache coming on.

“They picked a fight with a well-respected member of the coven.” The coven member, whose name must’ve been Mike, responded dryly. “All of the information has been sent to Kikimora, including the video they took, but until I hear back they are both detained.” That explained why he’d been sitting in the room.

“He was sabotaging Frederick.” Ed cut in, likely having heard what Mike said. “I couldn’t just let things end like that.”

“Yeah, yeah, you already told me.” Mike sounded annoyed, though it was hard to tell how he really felt through the mask.

A knock came at the door, which was then opened by a healing witch. She was carrying a clipboard, and looked surprised when she entered the room.

“I see you have visitors.” The healing witch commented, eyes flicking from Luz to Amity.

Ed nodded, now smirking smugly. “I told you someone would come pick us up.”

The healing witch stepped around the side of Emira’s bed, where the iv was set up, and checked the bag. “You were right.” She said, focused on her work. “Would all visitors mind stepping out for a minute?”

Luz practically jumped out of her chair. “Of course.”

Amity stood as well, following Luz towards the door. The healing witch directed her gaze to Mike, who sighed.

“Fine.” He said, rising to his feet. He was the last out of the room, so he shut the door. He leaned against the wall next to it, arms crossed. Amity figured this hadn’t been the first time he was kicked out of the room.

Luz was looking around the hallway with wide eyes, taking it in now that they weren’t trying to go somewhere. “This place is so impressive; I wish I knew a healing spell.” She said, fingers tapping over the pocket where she kept her glyph paper.

“It is very useful.” Amity thought about her attempts to heal in the past, and how badly those ventures had gone. She moved a couple steps away, and then settled against a different portion of wall. “I’ve never done one either.” She admitted, drawing Luz’s bright brown eyes back to her.

“We can practice together!” Luz practically hopped over to her, clearly excited at the prospect.

Amity couldn’t help but smile at her. “I’d like that.” To keep doing things together with Luz, like she had been for the last month, was a much better prospect than any of the covens they visited. Healing magic could be the route, or at least the starting point, that kept them together. “Thanks for coming with me today, I know this wasn’t how you planned to spend the afternoon.”

Luz reached forward and took one of Amity’s hands in her own, drawing a flush of hot red to Amity’s cheeks. “I wanted to.” She said, gently and softly, eyes locked on Amity’s. Amity thought her heart would beat out of her chest as she fought to keep her hand from shaking.

A beeping sound distracted her from the conversation, which was coming from Mike. Luz let go of her hand to look over as well. He took a small object out of his pocket, flipping it open and holding it up in front of his face. “Ma’am.” He said to the device.

A familiar voice came out of it, just loud enough for Amity to understand. “We have finished interrogating Nick. Starting tomorrow a full investigation will be done into his conduct.” That was Kikimora’s voice; Amity was certain. “You may release the Blight twins.”

“Yes Ma’am.” Mike said briskly, before closing the device.

This was good news; it looked like Amity might actually get to take the twins home. They still needed to be cleared by the healing witch, but at least they wouldn’t be detained.

“Ed told me they fought an abomination too.” Luz picked the conversation back up as if nothing had changed. “It was huge, but they tricked him into hitting it.”

“They always were good at that.” Amity said with a small shake of her head.

The two talked a bit longer, about the battle and the story Ed told, until the door to the room opened once again.

“When they’re ready, bring them up to the front to sign out.” The healing witch said as she walked out, directing the comment at all three of them.

“Thank you.” Amity was the first to step back into the room. Ed was on his feet, though he looked slightly unstable. Em had fresh bandages on her wounds, with more color to her cheeks than before. She was still sitting on the bed, though with her legs over the side and feet on the ground.

Mike was just a step behind Amity. “You’re being released.” He said, drawing a fist pump from Ed. “Try not to cause any more trouble.” With those words he turned to leave, brushing past Luz and down the hallway.

“Can you handle that Ed?” Em asked in a lilting tone, rising slowly to her feet.

“Might have to break it a few times, just to make sure.” Ed laughed, though Amity didn’t find it nearly as funny.

“Let’s go you two.” She gestured at the door. Both of her siblings moved slower than usual, but they made it out to the front. The witch at the counter gave them both tubes of cream, to be applied on the burns for the next couple weeks.

They then signed out, and the whole crew went outside.

Luz parted ways with them in front of the clinic. “Let’s meet up tomorrow to finish book club, see you back at the library at noon!” She had said, which Amity agreed to do, before walking away.

As Amity turned her back on the healing coven, she wasn’t sure if she wanted to join it. Right now though, there were more pressing matters.

Now Amity had to walk the twins home, and also figure out just how they intended to hide this whole incident from their parents. It wasn’t going to be possible, of that she was sure.


	34. Day 27 - Amity, Emira, Edric

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm posting this chapter a couple days early, since I have a busy week coming up and I don't want to delay the final chapter.

As it turned out, their parents had already been informed of the incident by the time they made it home. They had been waiting in the study, not bothering to come to clinic.

Amity had left Ed and Em in their care, though they didn’t seem upset about what had happened.

No, they actually seemed pleased, which was super strange. Their mother said something about how the publicity of this would look good for the family, which Amity didn’t understand. Amity could hear them interrogating the twins as she left, asking for all the details.

It was hard to fall asleep that night, though not due to what happened with the twins. No, Amity realized that after visiting all of the major covens, she still didn’t know which one she was going to join. Sure, she had learned about each one of them, but she hadn’t succeeded at her true goal.

Despite all of the time spent searching, she didn’t have an answer.

She had no idea what to do about that, which led to uneasy sleep.

The next day, Amity went back to the library as arranged with Luz. The plan was to finish the conversation they’d been having about Azura yesterday, but Amity couldn’t focus on that.

They were sitting in the same spots they had been the day before, both flipping through a book. Amity closed hers and looked up at Luz slowly. She couldn’t hold it in any longer.

“Since we visited them all, have you decided which coven to join?” Amity asked the question that had been haunting her since last night.

Luz brought her eyes up, connecting their gazes together. “Nope.” She said the word with certainty as she closed her book. “They were all so cool, with so much awesome magic, I can’t decide.” She still sounded happy though, even without having come to a conclusion. “I really loved seeing the different beasts for beast keeping, oh and the future at the Oracle Coven.”

Thinking back to what the oracle saw in her future warmed Amity’s cheeks. “I remember.” She also recalled how excited Luz had been, looking around the covens, and how eager she was to learn new spells.

“Plants too, oh plants are too great!” Now Luz’s eyes were sparkling. Amity thought about the plant that almost ate Luz’s hand, and was less enthused. “It’s impossible to pick.” Luz stated with a firm nod.

“What will you do then?” This was the question Amity had been asking herself, for the whole month now. The question she’d been struggling with all this time, with no progress.

For Luz, the young woman who always seemed to know what to do, the answer came easily. “I’ll keep learning all of them!”

Was that the answer then, to learn all types of magic? It wouldn’t work for Amity, she knew that. But that wasn’t the point.

No, what Amity was starting to understand was that it was okay to still be learning. Luz felt perfectly comfortable stretching her wings and trying new things. She wasn’t prepared to choose a coven, and so she didn’t.

Amity could do that too. She’d spent the last month traveling around with Luz, after all, exploring what different covens had to offer. She had loved almost every minute of it, all of the time spent learning with her friend.

With Luz by her side, the possibilities were endless.

Even though Amity hadn’t come to the end with an answer, with a coven to join, she had still learned something.

“That’s just like you.” Amity replied to Luz’s exclamation, which surprisingly caused the other teen’s face to flush pink.

Luz broke eye contact and ducked her head slightly, seeming embarrassed. “What about you?” She asked.

“I haven’t decided yet.” Amity chose her next words carefully. “Do you mind if I keep learning with you?”

Luz lifted her head and looked right at Amity. Her bright brown eyes were wide with surprise. “Of course!” She almost shouted, then covered her mouth with her hands. “I mean, of course I don’t mind.” She looked so endearing like this, too cute.

Amity smiled; she couldn’t help it. “Thank you.” She then looked back down at her Azura book, which was lying forgotten in her lap. “Maybe after book club, we can get started.”

Luz’s hands fell away from her face. “For sure!”

The two resumed flipping through their books, though they had to try and remember what they’d been searching for earlier.

Later, after they were done, they would start trying to learn a healing spell. After seeing Ed and Em’s burns the day before, they felt that was the best place to start.

Progress was slow, but that was fine. Amity was in no hurry.

As long as she was spending time with Luz, expanding their limits together, she was happy.

* * *

The attic was dusty, despite its more regular use. Emira had been very careful while climbing up as to not irritate her healing side.

The burn had hurt quite badly on the walk home, which was only made worse by her parents fawning over her. It had been weird, and she got away from them as soon as she could.

The burn cream, which the clinic gave her, helped ease the pain. She had applied it carefully while changing the bandages.

When morning came, she mostly sat around the house. She couldn’t go anywhere, and with the internship over it wasn’t like she had anything she needed to do. School work wouldn’t start again until Monday.

Emira had been sitting in her room when a small magic symbol flashed on her desk; Ed was summoning her to the attic.

That was how she ended up carefully hauling herself up the ladder, taking it one step at a time. Ed had beaten her up there, which was no surprise since he put out the summons.

He had taken his bandages off to let the burns breath, which he could do since they were smaller burns. He was sitting on the same box as usual when Emira made it to the top, wearing his casual clothes.

“We could’ve met downstairs.” Emira protested as she got both of her feet onto the landing, moving to sit on a box and rest.

Ed looked her over, eyes stopping where the large burn was. “And risk being overheard?” He asked, with the real unsaid question being, would that be worth it?

The answer was no. “You’re right.” Emira sighed, slouching against a box.

A small smile crept onto Ed’s face. “Thank you.” He quipped, before the smile shrank back away. “Frederick sent me a note this morning, the coven is investigating Nick.”

That sounded like good news. “So, did we win?” Emira asked, still not sure of all the details involved.

“I think so, yeah.” Ed put his elbows on his knees, leaning forward so he could rest his head on his hands. “Can’t believe it’s over.” He muttered.

Emira understood how he felt. The second half of the internship felt like it had flashed by, like a firework. “Back to school on Monday.” Emira replied, causing Ed to roll his eyes.

“Unfortunately.” He grumbled. “Did you at least learn any new spells?” He asked, still leaning on his arms.

Oh, that was right, Emira hadn’t had time to show him yet. “I did.” She said with a smile. Though she hadn’t expected to, she learned a lot from Jen.

The internship had turned out far better than her first impression of it; she probably should’ve given it a better chance from the start. Emira would try not to make that mistake again.

Ed sat up straight, now intrigued. “What kind?” He asked, and Emira could practically see the gears in his brain already turning.

“A layered fireworks spell, I’ll teach you once I’m healed.” Creating fireworks while covered in burns wouldn’t exactly be responsible.

“I learned one too.” Ed replied, now smirking. “By that, I mean I created it.”

“Ooh.” Emira leaned closer, though had to sit back up when her side twinged. “What’s it do?”

“Creates a patch of anti friction ground, it’ll be great for pranks.” Ed then explained the basis of the spell, and demonstrated it on an object in the attic. Emira couldn’t wait to try it.

They continued talking about the spell, along with potential combos it could be used in, for a while longer.

“There is one more thing I have to do, before we go back to school.” Ed said as the conversation was winding down.

“What’s that?” Emira thought that dealing with Nick had been the last thing.

“Later, when Mittens gets home, I’ll show you.”

* * *

“This is the spot.” Edric stopped about a hundred feet away from the house, marking a patch of grass with his foot.

“Are you sure?” Em asked, with one eyebrow arched in his direction. They had already reassessed two different spots.

“Yes.” Edric ignored her sass and nodded. “Go ahead and cast.”

Emira rolled her eyes, but did as she was directed. She spun her finger in a large circle, casting an illusion mirror. It sat between them and the house, reflecting back the grass so that they couldn’t be spotted.

Amity had her arms crossed. “What do you want me to do again?” She asked, clearly annoyed with how long it had taken to choose a spot.

“Summon your abomination and have it dig, this is what we’re burying.” Edric tried to remain patient as he held up the item in question.

Amity called for her abomination, and it appeared out of a spell circle. It was a small one, to avoid being seen around the mirror. She directed it to the designated grass. “Abomination, dig.”

The purple creature obeyed, digging up the grass and creating a small hole. Once it was wide enough, Amity had it stop.

“Perfect.” Edric said, leaning over to examine the hole. He held the object in both hands. “Would either of you like to say a few words?” He asked his sisters.

“Pass.” Amity said bluntly.

“It was better than going to school.” Em supplied.

That was true, it had been better than going to school. Edric was not excited to get back to that, but at least he had a couple new tricks up his sleeves.

He looked down at the mask in his hands, the one he’d worn every day for the last month.

What had he learned? Well, a new spell, but what else? Watch out for corrupt authority figures?

New experiences weren’t so bad, or something like that.

“Good riddance.” Edric said, kneeling down to place the mask into the hole. It looked good there, better than it had on his face.

Amity then had the abomination cover it back up with dirt, leaving a slightly elevated patch.

Edric cast a plant spell, the only one he knew, to try and make some of the grass grow back. A couple strands popped out of the ground.

“Good enough.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that's the end. Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoyed the fic!


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